A Game Comes To Equestria
by Rainstone56
Summary: When an Unplanned Meteor Shower rains in the skies of Equestria, Pinkie Pie decides to make a wish for "A Brand New Friend" on one of the strange green stars that appear within it. The wish, unwittingly, comes true-with a Pegasus colt "crash-landing" in Ponyville. No memories, No Cutie Mark, only a name. Is he a threat, or something more? Takes place during DOMA/WTD arc & S.2/3.
1. Wishes Change Everything

_A Wish can change everything. _You can laugh at the idea all you'd like, but it's very, very true. If you make a wish on a falling lash, a shooting star, or even on an item that is said to grant one wish…Nine times out of ten, it's bound to change your life, whether it changes it just a little, or it completely turns all the tables around for you.

However, in order of a Wish to change something, it has to be believed in. You have to believe in it, or many people have to believe in it. If you wish very, very hard, it'll come true. Sometimes, these wishes are lost to the void that they're made to….sometimes, and only sometimes, these wishes come true—and they make the most difference in the events.

This is how it started. One wish made on a falling star had changed a bleak situation for one into a new adventure, a new path, one taken alone. One wish had brought a being into a world he had never seen or experienced before. One wish was all it took to change the life of a town into quite a spectacle.

This is the Story of How a Game came to the land of Equestria.

"Come on, come on, commmmeee oooon! We're gonna miss it!"

"It's not even sunset yet, Pinkie, calm down—We have plenty of time to get to the hill and see the meteor shower."

"But what if it comes early? What if happens so fast that we miss it, and we find out it won't happen for another million-ga-jillion years? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we missed it!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, I'm sure we won't miss it. The Meteor Shower tonight is an interesting phenomenon, since it's unplanned, but since we're setting out before the sun is setting, we'll get there on time to see it happen. Besides, if you wanted to be there earlier, then you should've had everything prepared much earlier."

"But I had to make sure I loaded the Party Cannon with the right kind of confetti! Oooh, and I couldn't leave my room without my star comet party hats that I bought for this kind of occasion! I hadn't had any time to stash them around Ponyville for Easy Access—"

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile as the Pink, bouncy, peppy Equine behind her went off into listing her reasons for delayed arrival. For at least a week and a half, a strange, unexpected Meteor Shower had been happening every night. From what Twilight gathered from a letter to the Princesses, the Meteor shower was an unplanned one, but regardless, many ponies in Equestria came out to watch the stars shower down in the sky every night, and now it was Twilight and her friends' turns to see the "Star Shower". After some careful planning, everyone agreed to meet up on a high hill to see it, and four of Twilight's friends went ahead, with their pets and family in tow, while Twilight went to round up Pinkie from the Sugarcube Corner.

"…and That's why I had to buy five coconuts and ten limes!" Pinkie Pie had finished her long explanation, cueing an arched eyebrow from the Purple Unicorn. Many times, if Pinkie was allowed to talk long enough, she'd go off and end the conversation on something completely different. But she had gotten used to it—It WAS Pinkie Pie, She had thought to herself, so she expected little else from her.

"So, do you think its true?"

"hmmm? What's true, Pinkie Pie?"

"How that sometimes there are green shooting stars along with the regular ones in the Star Showers?"

"Well, I guess it would be possible if the Meteorites had Copper Sulfate infused within the minerals, but that's probably a random chance, or perhaps just a trick of the eye." Twilight said as she began a steady climb up an uphill path to the top of the hill. "After all, Meteorites contain various metals and minerals and compositions, so it can be possible, especially with their entering the atmosphere and burning up as they do so could ignite the Copper Sulfate and produce a green color to make it look like a Green shooting star."

"I Hope I get to see a green shooting star! I wanna make a wish on it!" Pinkie had said, most of Twilight's Explanation going over her head.

"Well, what would you wish for?"

"A friend!"

"Pinkie Pie—you've already got friends."

"I know! I wanna wish for a brand new friend to make! A Pony I've never met before in my whole life, or maybe a Pony that isn't even a pony! Then I could throw them a "New Pony" Party, and we can be the best of friends!" Pinkie had stated, moving her forehoof around in a gesture. "I really hope it comes true! "Cause I wanna meet that new pony! Maybe they're super-duper cool and can do all sorts of tricks! Or maybe even like partying! That would be so cool if they do, because I would love a Party Buddy! Or, even better, they can plan awesome parties too! We can plan really super-duper epic parties together, and—"

"Pinkie Pie, we're here."

Pinkie Pie had stopped talking and looked up at the sky. Sunset had just begun, and the once blue sky was taking on colors of red, which soon faded to dark purple, and then the deepest, darkest blue as the stars came out, one by one, twinkling like diamonds in the sky. Pinkie Pie had been somewhat awestruck, but had shaken it off as she and Twilight joined their friends, with Pinkie setting up the little "Star Shower Picnic Party".

Luna had once landed onto the ground as she finished her rising of the moon, and the night that followed. Tonight, her Sister was waiting on the ground with her, the two wanting to watch the "Star Shower" together. Luna was quite baffled by how it appeared so suddenly, as she had not planned any meteor showers, But it was quite pleasing to the eye and very mysterious, so she and her sister decided to observe it for a little while.

For a while, the sky held still stars. Then one little white streak of light darted across the sky, then another. Soon, they were joined by a multitude of them.

"Quite Beautiful, is it not, Luna?" Celestia said as she watched the 'Star Shower' unfold. "Are you sure you didn't just set this up as a surprise for everyone?"

"As Flattering as it is for thou to say we are the ones responsible, sister, We must deny our part in acciting the stars as they fall from the heavens. This strange phenomenon, we assume, is out of our main control of power." Luna said as she watched the meteorites streak by in the sky. "But, We have noticed a queer quirk within the showers that ensue. Dear sister, do you not see flicks of green streak within th' white of the heavenly showers? Ne'er have we seen such an event happen before, for stars are not and 'ave been not a luminescent shade of green before these nights and nights prior."

Celestia observed carefully, chewing a bit of sandwich in her mouth as she did, and saw a quick spark of green streak by in the sky before vanishing. "You're right. That is a bit strange….and familiar. I think I've heard of 'green stars' before, but I can't remember off the top of my head from where. I might have to look into the archives to see if there's any history on it, or at least on something similar."

That's when Celestia saw it. One green streak of light had been lingering, the shooting star heading downward. From where she could measure, it looked to be heading for where Ponyville was. Now she was getting concerned.

"Luna, I'll be right back. I'm not sure how big that shooting star is, but I'm going to check to make sure nopony gets hurt if it impacts."

"Aye, Sister, We Apprehend. We shall wait for thou here until the ominous problem has been concluded and averted." Luna said as she sat on the hill, pulling out a sandwich for herself as Celestia took to the air, and flew off.

Meanwhile, in a world much different from Equestria's own...

The Wrath of Hell was about to hit one individual, as severe karmic retribution for his dark actions. Nothing was going to stop the attack, and as it tore up ground and charged toward him, all that can and could be managed was a scream of denial.

He wasn't going to have any of it. He was not going to stand there and watch his friend's soul get taken away, even if it meant paying the price. Drawing up all the power he could, he charged at his only window, using a point, and cracked it open. It proved to be just enough.

"_Pharaoh! I won't let this happen to you!"_

He pushed him out of the ring as the green light grew brighter. The hum of energy that rippled through his soul was a cold, chilling sensation, and it only grew stronger.

"_It Only needs one of Us, so I'm letting it take me Instead!"_

As soon as the last word escaped his mouth, light had blinded him, and the sensation had ripped away at all of his senses. He couldn't hear his friend scream for him—he couldn't see what was happening, let alone feel much. First he felt a disconnection with his earthly senses…

Then he felt pain. Searing, hot, ripping pain, as if he was being torn in half. He tried to scream, but no sound came out, and the light was much too blinding for him to see properly. He had promptly blacked out, the pain being too much for him to bear.

"Oooh, oooh! Look, there's a big green one right there!" Pinkie Pie spoke as she hopped and bounced, pointing at a streaking, green star that burned in the sky. "I wanna make my wish!"

"Well then, go ahead an' shoot, Sugahcube."

"oh! But remember not to say it aloud! Or it doesn't come true!"

"Okie Doki, Loki!" With that, Pinkie Pie shut her eyes, furrowing her brows in concentration as she began to make her wish.

"_Ok, I dunno if there's some sort of cool magic creature that rides on green stars and grants wishes, but I wanna make a wish! I wish that I can meet a Brand New Pony I can be friends with! Somepony I've never seen before! Somepony me and my friends can get along with! They don't even have to be a pony! I just wanna make a brand new friend!"_

The shooting star grew brighter, and much to the amazement of the others, _had changed direction._

Unfortunately, it was heading in their direction. And quite quickly, to boot. All had dodged out of the way as the light green ball of blazing flame (or energy, though nobody wanted to get close to find out) whizzed right past them and without a sound, strangely enough, crashed in the middle of the town square with a blast of green light, before it died down and faded.

The shockwave from the impact was enough to awaken the sleeping residents still in the town, and draw their attention to the square, and the crater it had received. What lied in its center, was something that spouted concern and chatter from the others.

In the hot, broken center, amongst dying green flame and rubble of stone and dirt, was a pony. A small Pegasus colt, with one crumpled wing covering his still frame. His tail was short, and singed, and his mane appeared to have a similar singe, all fluffed out. There was no Cutie Mark to be seen on his flank, which was pale within the moonlight that was visible. The expression on his face, as unconscious as he was, showed signs of pain and…acceptance? As some bits of down from his crumpled, broken wings fell into the crater, the residents in Ponyville had become extremely curious about this new arrival.

This was no ordinary Pony. Definitely not ordinary.


	2. I Wished You Here!

_**A/N: Just a quick little reminder: There are NO Duels in this fanfic. Due to Equestria probably not having Duel Monsters, it's to be expected. But there are various other challenges and games—A simple, early warning.**_

_It started off as loud pounding in his head_, before the Pounding had died down, muffled voices speaking, all garbled and unintelligible at first. He let out a soft groan as he shifted his body, to which he let out a pained yelp. Pain. Oh god, the pain. He tried his best to stand, before falling on the bed….seeing sprawled out hooves and pale peach fur. With a yelp, he fell off where he rested and onto the floor, right on his side—where bandages were.

This time he screamed in pain, drawing the attention of the muffled voices that lied beyond the door of the room.

_When Celestia appeared on the scene_, she had picked up the stallion and ordered a few of the townsfolk to get Nurse Redheart, and for Twilight and Company to follow her to the library. Resting the Pegasus within Twilight's bed and letting Nurse Redheart do her work, Celestia and the others quietly observed the stranger as he slept, taking in his appearance.

In terms of his body….well, aside from being Cutie Mark-less, he appeared to be a normal young stallion, if not on the small side. His wings were crumpled and clipped, as if something ripped passed them, but they were not permanently damaged where he couldn't fly ("they are broken", Redheart said, "and they'll probably require some healing before he can try to fly again, but they're perfectly normal wings") , and were no bigger than most pegasi wings.

His mane and tail were eye-catchers. The main colors of his mane, as it appeared, were red, black and golden yellow—with the fluffed out bangs being, apparently, the golden yellow part of it. One could assume that the mane was bigger, but its original shape had been burned and fluffed due to the force of the impact, as Twilight assumed.

After a lifting of an eyelid, the Pegasus' eye color was shown a violet purple, similar to Twilight's, in a way….but this shade of violet seemed more vibrant, full of light, one can say. After a thorough check-through, Nurse Redheart had bandaged the stallion's injured wings and had everyone leave the room.

"Well, aside from his wings, he appears perfectly healthy—which amazes me, considering how he fell out of the sky with that kind of an impact. Not sure about what else, though, since he's still unconscious, but I figure I can leave that up to you, your highness." The Nurse said as she picked up her medic kit, and headed for the door, her duties done for the night.

Celestia had an expression of thought on her face as her apprentice pace, seemingly thinking herself.

"Do you think it's an alien or somethin'?" Rainbow Dash said, eying the door. "maybe some sort of bloodsucking Alien here to eat our brains?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Rainbow—besides, why would he eat our brains if you said he was a bloodsucker?"

"Because—well, uh…."

Pinkie, however, sat by the door, curious about the strange young stallion that came out of that green star. Had it granted her wish? If it did, she could throw a party for her new "wish-friend"! A "New Wish-Friend" Party sounded like it would be fun.

"Princess…do you think he might be some sort of threat?"

Celestia quietly thought before shaking her head. "He doesn't appear to be one. Though, I say you must exercise caution, Twilight. He might be dangerous, or he might be harmless as he appears. I can't determine which if he isn't awake. But, don't frighten him when he does wake up—until we know for sure he isn't a danger to any of us, don't try to scare him or startle him, but keep ready if he tries anything suspicious."

That's when there was a loud scream coming from the room. Celestia and the Mane Six had rushed in, seeing that their new guest was awake, and sprawled on the floor, apparently in pain upon falling on one of his broken wings. He looked up at the tall, white furred Alicorn, Violet meeting a pale pink. Celestia had blinked. His eyes were….familiar, somehow, and yet she didn't recognize them. Her best thought was that it was probably reminding her of her pupil's eye color, and for now, filed it to the back of her mind.

Celestia carefully helped the young stallion to stand up from the ground, though his forelegs and backlegs wobbled, as if he never stood before. "Young gentlecolt…what is your name?"

The young stallion squinted, as if concentrating. After a bit, he blinked up at Celestia, and spoke up.

"….Yugi. My name is….Yugi. I think."

Suddenly, there was a snicker and then a burst of laughter from Rainbow Dash. "Ewe Gee? Wow, what kind of a name is that? If you ask me, it sounds pretty…." She smirked. "Pretty Baaaaa-ad!"

Yugi frowned in confusion at the remark from the rainbow color-maned Pegasus. She blinked at him, somewhat baffled by his confusion. "You know? Ewe Gee? Ewe? Like a Sheep? ...wow, it was a bad pun, I get it, but still, you SHOULD know what a sheep is!"

Yugi blinked, and then it clicked in his head. "Oh! Ewe—as a sheep! Sorry…my head was elsewhere."

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. It ruled him out as an evil pony in her book—there is no chance that a bad guy would be that slow on a pun like that.

"Well, Yugi…My name is Twilight Sparkle. That's Rainbow Dash, and this is my mentor, Princess Celestia—"

Yugi blinked and jumped a little at that. Wobbling, he bowed, his face turning all sorts of red. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't notice, m-ma'm."

Celestia helped him back onto his hooves. "It's quite alright, Yugi. Now…you said, you think Yugi is your name. Can you remember anything at all before you woke up?"

Yugi furrowed his brows and scrunched up his face. Suddenly, a dawn of realization appeared on his face.

He remembered nothing. Absolutely nothing. Friends? Blank. Family? Zip. Anything else? Nada. Only his name came up, but it was the only thing he could remember at all.

"….I don't." he held a hoof to his head. "Oh god, I can't remember ANYTHING. This…..this doesn't feel right. At all."

Now Celestia was concerned and slightly more interested. He has no memory of anything but his name? It would mean, if he was an actual resident of Equestria, that somepony was missing him, and it would be much harder to find that somepony.

But she knew that he was most likely not from here at all—wherever he came from, the one thing that was certain was that he was in Equestria now, and came in it via a shooting star. Or, he probably _was_ the shooting star.

However, Pinkie Pie had pushed herself in front as Celestia thought. She gave the Pegasus one of her wide, bright smiles.

"Hiya, Yugi! My name's Pinkie Pie, and I wished you here!"

That drew eyes to Pinkie and Yugi immediately. Yugi blinked, surprised.

"You…wished me here?"

"Well, duh! I made a wish for a brand new friend to meet, and suddenly, you fall out of the sky with a whoosh and a bang! Well, there was no bang, but still a whoosh! And now, here you are, in Ponyville!"

"Wait….Are you even sure that you wished him here? I mean, for all we know, he could've been hit by that shooting star, Pinkie!"

"Don't be silly! If he was hit by a meteor, then where's the meteor? He came here 'cause I wished him here! Maybe not directly, but I wished him!"

Pinkie Pie bounced around Yugi a few times, tail flopping in place as it did, to which Yugi watched, in confusion…and then amusement. Yugi's lips wobbled, before creeping into a smile…and he laughed.

Pinkie had stopped bouncing, looking at Yugi as the gentle, happy laugh he had poured out in giggles and chortles. Pinkie had begun laughing herself, finding the colt's laughter quite amusing. Soon, it had gotten infectious, and everypony, one by one, joined into the laughter. Even Celestia couldn't resist urge to giggle, just a little.

A white furred Unicorn with a violet purple mane had spoken up through the laughter. "I say….That is the most adorable little laugh I've heard out of a colt!"

"Best laugh I've heard in forever!" Pinkie Pie said with a giggle. She stopped bouncing and put her hoof and arm around Yugi, a wide grin on her face. "I can tell that we're gonna be the bestest friends ever!"

Yugi, in turn, gave a strange, little smile….before promptly passing out, using up any bit of energy he gained back when he was asleep the first time.

"I think its best we just let him rest more." Celestia said, lifting the young stallion from the floor with her magic. "Is it better that he stays here, or shall we find him another place to rest?"

Pinkie Pie shook her hoof, like an eager child wanting to answer a question. "oooh, ooh! Let him stay with me in Sugarcube Corner! I wanna show him something when he wakes up! I won't mind if he stays in my room!"

"Well, just be careful with him, Pinkie." Twilight said as they all shuffled out of the library. "He doesn't have any memories, and we don't know what he's like at full energy. Exercise some caution."

"Don't worry! Caution is my middle name: Pinkie "Caution" Pie!"

Twilight had given Pinkie a doubtful look at that expression.

_Yugi had floundered, awakening in a deep abyss. It was cold, and dark, and very, very wet—due to it all being water. He had noticed that he was sinking, getting farther away from the light at the surface, slowly sinking deeper into the cold darkness._

_And then, he saw it—A bright spark of reddish light floating down towards him. He strained his ears, listening carefully, as a sound echoed through the darkness. It was warbled and warped, almost entirely inhuman….but it was calling out. It was calling his name._

"Yugi…" _It had called out, again and again. The reddish light floated and circled around him, the hum of energy shivering through his being. He didn't know what to make of the light or the voice calling his name….but there wasn't much that could be done about it._

_Another voice had quietly echoed, whispering within his ear._

"We do not forget your sacrifice….your heart has been chosen, outsider. Your heart and soul. We do not forget your sacrifice."

_Then he felt something snap down on his face._

Yugi woke up with a start, slightly panicking at how there was a small alligator right on top of his snout and face. However, he had noticed that this alligator….had no teeth—just gums. Yugi would've snorted in surprise, had it not been for the Alligator being over his nose. He picked the small reptile off of his nose, and looked at his surroundings.

He was on a bed with a blanket decorated with patterns of candies, confections and balloons. In fact, the whole bed, including the post, had some form of a balloon worked into the design. The whole room was decorated with all sorts of sweet things, and all sort of festive objects, as if there was a party taking place while he was asleep. His eyes adjusted, and he soon took in how _vibrant_ and _colorful_ everything was—like he had woken up in a sugary cartoon—everything was bright, full of vibrant life. His short fluff of a tail had shaken back and forth—or for an accurate term, he wagged his tail—as he felt a stir of…Joy? Happiness? The room seemed to give his entire being, his entire soul, perhaps, a completely uplifting feeling.

"Hiya, Yugi!" Pinkie Pie chimed as she hopped up from under him with a party hat and a smile on her face. Yugi fell back with a squeak, hooves flailing in the air.

"Did ya sleep well, Yugi? I hope my bed wasn't too lumpy for ya! And I see you already met Gummy! Isn't he adorable?"

Yugi blinked, taking everything she said in.

"You…let me sleep on your bed? Well then, where did you sleep?"

"I slept in here, silly!" Pinkie Pie said, rolling up a sleeping bag that she had pointed out on the floor. "I thought you would be uncomfortable on the floor, and I wanted to try out my sleeping bag! It's meant for slumber parties, but I haven't had a Slumber Party yet this year, so this was a perfect opportunity to try it out!"

Yugi frowned a little. "You didn't need to give up your bed for me. I could've just slept on the sleeping bag instead."

"Nonsense! You're my extra-special guest! And I want my extra-special guest to feel extra-specially comfortable!" the Pink Pony said, her smile wide and bright.

"Oooh! I wanna try something out! Wait just a sec~"

"It's ok, you can take your ti—"

Before Yugi could even finish his sentence, Pinkie came back immediately, wheeling in a pink wagon with the same shades of color Pinkie was, and even had the mark of balloons that adorned her flank.

With a press of a button on its side, the wagon had opened up with a bounce, and had revealed flags, and oven, and pipes of all sorts. It began to play very bouncy, cheerful music.

"_Welcome, Welcome, Welcome_

_A Fine Welcome To you_

_Welcome, Welcome, Welcome_

_I say, 'How do you Do?'_

_Welcome, Welcome, Welcome_

_I say 'Hip-Hip-Hooray'_

_Welcome, Welcome, Welcome_

_To Po-Ny-Ville, Toooodaaaayyy!"_

Pinkie had slid out in front of Yugi in a split as she finished the last note. He tilted his head curiously, as Pinkie kept smiling.

"Waaaaiiiittt for it!"

BAM. Yugi was sent careening back as a cake was launched out at him at full force, making him hit the wall. The small Pegasus was coated in cake and frosting from the impact, as confetti sputtered out pitifully from the pipes in the wagon.

"Awww! Rats, it's still got problems with the confetti shooter. At least the Oven works fine, though I think I might need to tone down the speed! I want Ponies to have their cake and eat it too!"

Licking most of the Frosting off of his face (which he admitted—wasn't so bad), Yugi blinked at the wagon and Pinkie. "What…was that?"

"Oh? It's my one-of-a-kind, Party-licious, Patented Pinkie Pie Welcome Wagon! I'm planning to use it to greet all the newcomers that come into Ponyville! 'Course, Once I work out all its bugs! It's still a Prototype." Pinkie said as she pulled out a towel to have Yugi wipe himself off with.

"You…greet newcomers?"

"Well, duh! I also plan all sorts of parties! It's what I specialize in!" Pinkie Pie said, patting her flank where the balloons were. "I don't have this Cutie Mark for nothin'!"

"…Cutie Mark?"

"Yeah, a Cutie Mark!" then Pinkie Pie gasped. "You don't know what a Cutie Mark Is?"

"um….No….I guess it's that mark on your flank…but other than that, I have no clu—"

The Pegasus had been seized into a hugging grip by Pinkie, being shaken back and forth. "OhMyGosh! You don't know what a CUTIE MARK is! Twilight was right; you don't have any memories of anything at all! No wonder you're Cutie Mark-less! That Shooting star must've cleaned it straight offa you!" Pinkie had thrown Yugi onto her back, eliciting a sore groan from him as he landed on his side. "Don't worry, We'll head over to Twilight's place and she'll tell you all about a Cutie Mark! Hang on Tight, Yugi, 'cause we're gonna make a real quick jump!"

The Pegasus blinked. "A…jump?"

"Yeah! You'll see in just a few seconds!"

"Ok, I have no idea what you're-"

"—talking about. I mean, in the regards about these….Cutie Marks." Yugi said, gently swiveling the tip of his hoof in the air. He had no idea exactly how Pinkie got him to her friend Twilight's place so fast, but he felt better not to bring it up to Twilight.

"Well, a Cutie Mark is a special mark that appears on Ponies when they discover their one true talent—it symbolizes what they can do, and in some interpretations of them, it stands for their destiny, their role in life. You can only get it if, like I said, you discover the one true talent you have a knack for." Twilight said as she pulled a book off of the shelf with a bit of her magic. "Normally, you earn it as a filly or little colt, but I've heard of late bloomers before—where they don't get their Cutie Mark until adulthood. But, maybe your memory loss factors in with a lack of a Cutie Mark?"

Yugi shifted his hooves. "I guess so…I don't even remember if I even HAVE a special talent. To be honest, I really don't remember anything. I know my name…but I don't know _who I am._ Or Who I was before last night, at least." He said with a sigh. "I try to think and remember really hard…but…nothing comes up. It's all blank for me."

Twilight furrowed her brows in thought. "Are sure you don't remember anything at all?"

Yugi shook his head. "Nothing. At all."

Twilight looked through the book she had looked at, deep in thought. "Well…why don't you just stay in Ponyville for a while, with us? I'm sure we'll find something to help with your memory loss, even if it might take a while. We can also try to ask around Equestria to see if your family or friends are looking for you."

_Friends._ It felt like a comfortable word in his head, a familiar one…but nothing came to mind about it. He nodded. "Thanks, Ms. Sparkle."

"You're welcome, Yugi—and please, you don't have to call me 'Ms. Sparkle'. Ms. Sparkle was my Mother. I'll be fine with 'Ms. Twilight', or just Twilight." Twilight smiled gently at Yugi, who in return, returned it. "Though, I'm not sure where you can stay and work…"

"Oooh! I have no problem if he stays with me! I wouldn't mind at—"

"Actually," Yugi spoke up. "I would like to stay in a different place. Not that Miss Pinkie's place isn't bad…I…don't want to overstay my welcome as a guest, especially if my host is sleeping on the floor rather than on the bed."

Twilight arched an eyebrow, noting the politeness (and…shyness?) within Yugi's voice. "Well, I guess once your Wings have healed, I could see about talking to Rainbow Dash and the other Pegasi in town about helping you to make a cloudhouse."

Yugi looked surprised. "Cloudhouse? As in….a house made of clouds?"

"Well, yes." Then Twilight silently facehoofed in a "duh" manner. "My apologies—I temporarily forgot about your memory loss. Pegasi can manipulate the weather and can walk along the clouds without falling through. Most that live here tend to make their houses out of clouds, as it reminds them of Cloudsdale, the Pegasi Capital in the sky. But, if you feel more comfortable on land, we can find you a little cottage here."

"…I….I'd like to try making a house out of clouds. It sounds sort of…..um….cool." The Pegasus stallion spoke, a playful light flickering in his eyes.

"Well, it's your house, but let's focus on getting your wings healed first." Twilight smiled. "and maybe you should have a proper introduction to everypony in town, at best. That way you're familiar with your surroundings, at least."

"Okie Dokie Loki! C'mon, Yugi! Let's meet all the Ponies!"

Without a word in, Pinkie had picked up and hopped off with Yugi on her back, with Yugi sputtering in surprise. The Pink Pony had some good strength, but it would drive him nuts, if she kept doing that to him without any warning.

Back at Canterlot, Celestia had looked amongst the books and scrolls within the Palace archives, searching for the answer to explain for the strange phenomenon of the recent Star Showers and the green stars that came with them; especially with anything like what happened the other night. It was very, very familiar to her…and yet, she couldn't remember exactly what it was.

And that little Pegasus….something about him, she thought, was not normal—she felt an aura of power around him….an aura like…

She looked up at an old tapestry, which held an image of a six-pointed star with six orbs on each point. _Impossible_, she thought, _There is no way that he could be a potential wielder. They haven't been used in centuries…and the last potential candidate had disappeared much earlier before Twilight and her friends._

But, she thought again, What if he was? If so, which one? They were always fickle and went for the strange. Who was this Colt, really? The energy that hummed around him that night had confirmed that he wasn't a normal Pegasus…but something more, lying underneath the surface. He could be a potential enemy…or a friend. _Either way,_ she thought to herself, _He has no memories of anything. Whatever brought him here; it took out his memories and left him with nothing. Nothing but potential power, power that he has no idea of._

A smile crept onto her face as an idea popped into her head. _I could use this to my advantage. If my pupil can guide him right, If he proves to be skillful…Yes, this will work—I just have to find the right words to put it in._

Picking up a quill and a parchment of paper, Celestia began to write a letter, passing by a black book with a spell circle etched into its color….a spell circle that was a dull, worn green….


	3. Cloudracing And a Spark of Memory

_Rainbow Dash had settled down for her usual afternoon nap_, on her favorite cloud, but for some reason, she couldn't sleep. That new little Pegasus, he somehow began to invade her mind. Where'd he come from? Who was he really? And how the hay-bale did he crash land like that? Call it curiosity, but he seemed like an alright Pony, if not a little shy (_hopefully, not as Shy as Fluttershy_, she thought) and quiet.

Though, did he lose his original personality along with his memories? _Quit thinkin' too hard, you're soundin' like an egghead._ Rainbow thought, and she curled up, falling asleep.

"DAAAAASSSSHHIIIIIEEEEE!"

SIGH. Well, she didn't feel tired anyways. The Rainbow-maned mare peeked over her cloud, looking down to see Pinkie Pie….with the little Pegasus on her back. Ewe Gee, wasn't it? "What is it, Pinkie?"

"Think you can introduce yourself properly to Yugi? I'm showing him around town to meet everypony!"

"Oh yeah. Sheep boy." Rainbow Dash said, flying off her cloud and landing in front of the two. "Guess I can do it again. Name's Rainbow Dash, and it's nice to meet you, Ewe Gee." Rainbow Dash said, looking Yugi over. "Kind of on the short side, for a colt, aren't ya?"

Yugi hopped off of Pinkie Pie, wobbling on his hooves a bit. "Um…well, I'm not sure…maybe I'm not full grown, yet?"

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Maybe, but at least you don't look like a flying sheep!"

Pinkie Pie had sniggered. Yugi tilted his head at the both of them. Once again, when he realized the pun, he understood, but this time, he rolled his eyes. "So…Rainbow Dash, what is it that you do?"

"Who me? I'm Ponyville's Weatherpony! And, I don't mean to brag, but, I am one—no—_The_ Fastest Pegasus In All of Ponyville, Maybe even in all of Equestria!"

"Interesting Declaration," Yugi responded. "But, is it true?"

"Are you saying I'm bluffin' ya?"

"Nothing of the sort. If you're really fast, then why don't you show me?"

Yugi's patient, gentle stare met that of Rainbow's devious, 'is-that-a-challenge?' look within her Maroon eyes. "Okay then, Mr. 'Show Me'. You wanna Demonstration? I'll give ya a demonstration." Rainbow said as she flexed her wings, taking to the air.

Ya see that bell on the schoolhouse, there?"

"Yeah, I do!"

"I can fly over there, buck it, and fly back here in ten seconds!"

"Ten Seconds?"

"Yep, Ten Seconds Flat!"

"…Prove it."

One familiar with Rainbow Dash would remember to never say those two little words to her, unless you want her to do something stupid to prove a point. To Yugi's credit, he didn't know her very well. The Cyan colored Pegasus took off for the bell at the schoolhouse, with Pinkie counting the seconds happily. Yugi watched as she went, puffy short tail thumping the ground as he waited. Before Pinkie had finished with nine, the loud "GONG" of the bell echoed out, and by the time she reached ten, Rainbow had returned, forelegs crossed.

"Well then, Sheep Boy? Does that prove I'm not bluffing?"

"It was pretty good…Buuut…" Yugi give a wry smile. "Is that all you can do?"

Rainbow looked flabbergasted. "Well, why don't you try?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm sort of…tied down, at the moment."

Rainbow Dash gave a bit of a sneer. "Then how can I prove it, if you keep talking and don't show? Don't you know how to take a challenge?"

Rainbow swore she saw a bit of his fur rise, as if her words stung a soft spot. "Fine. How about a race on the clouds?"

"What, not on the ground, since you can't fly?"

Yugi had a fierce determination burning in his eyes. "Doesn't stop me from walking on clouds, does it?" the Pegasus rose to his feet, tail sticking up and fluffing up, looking like a reddish-black flame. "I'll take your little challenge and I'll race you, on the clouds, around Ponyville—no wings, just our hooves."

Rainbow kept a steady stare into Yugi's eyes, seeing the mirrored determination that she had. "Ok then, Sheep Boy, you're on, one lap around Ponyville, No wings, and the finish line is at Sweet Apple Acres. Meet me at the Town Hall when you're ready—I'm going to show you that I am not a Pegasus to be messed with!"

Yugi snorted out a huff of air, and the two…Hoofbumped on it, to say the least. Rainbow had flewn off, and as she did, Yugi held his head, snapping out of the Adrenaline rush.

Good lord, what did he get himself into?

After a quick tour of Ponyville, Pinkie not giving him time to meet the rest of her friends or any others, Yugi had arrived at The Town hall, and was amazed at a ramp at its stairs—a ramp made of absolute cloud. Nearby Pegasi were setting up a banner and pounding clouds into a track shape over his head as he walked past.

The small Pegasus was amazed, at how they had shaped and controlled the clouds to their will. Even if he couldn't remember a thing…it was, to him, an amazing feat.

"Ah Reckon Ya like th' track, Mister Ewe Gee?" a Southern Drawl of a female voice spoke behind him. Yugi turned around to see a Tan-Orange Earth Pony with a blonde mane and tail, both tied back by a red band, white freckles, and tipping a brown cowboy hat (it was a little bit on the small side for it to be a Stetson) to him. On her flank was a cutie mark that composed of three apples, simply red with a green stem and leaf.

He had recognized her as one of the other Ponies in the room when he first came to, and had also seen her in passing when Pinkie was giving him a (quick) tour of the Town. Both times, he hadn't been able to talk to her and get her name.

"Oh, y-yeah. I've never seen a course like that before—well, at least like that, made of clouds and in the sky."

The Pony smirked, holding out her hoof. "Ah didn' properly intraduce myself. Ah'm Applejack, and 's Nice t' meet ya, Mister Ewe Gee."

Yugi took Applejack's hoof…and was greeted with a hardy Hoofshake. "So….does Rainbow Dash…do this a lot?"

"Whut, Race? Shucks, not t' often, not unless she's challenged. That girl can't control herself when it comes t' a challenge. Ah'd just be careful, though—she loves t' win, and she might try anythin'."

Yugi felt a small buzz in his head. "You mean she might try to cheat?"

"well, that's less likely, since ya'll are racin' on th' clouds, but she's th' Element of Loyalty, Not Honesty. If it happens, well, you was warn'd."

Somehow, that didn't sit too well with the little Pegasus. "And how do you know this?"

"Well, Rainbow an' Ah raced each other a whil' back—Ah made her promise not t' use her wings, but when it look'd like Ah was winnin', she decided to use a branch as a catapault!"

"And then it dissolved into One-up-manship, if I remember what Twilight told me—you both came in dead last." A refined voice spoke, coming from the white furred Unicorn mare from before. Applejack had blushed, tipping her hat down a little to hide her face.

"Ah Was gettin' round t' that, Rarity."

"Rarity? That's your name?"

"Ah yes, quite, Mr. Yugi." Rarity said, fluffing the curl of her mane a bit. "I heard about the news of the race while I was getting my materials for my next project—No one here in Ponyville had challenged Rainbow Dash to a Race ever since the _Running Of The Leaves_, and nopony has challenged her to a race on a track made of mostly clouds." She gave Yugi a gentle, formal smile.

"And as much as I would love to stick around to watch, I can't exactly stay. If I am going to get these Costumes done before Nightmare Night, I'm going to need all the time I can get."

Yugi blinked. "Nightmare Night?"

"Ah, well, Nightmare Night is a holiday, dear—it's coming up quite soon, though, in a month, no less. It's where fillies and gentlecolts dress up and collect candy, at least through nowadays. I've decided to make Costumes for my dear friends—though, Twilight opted out. She said she was making her own costume." Rarity looked Yugi over. "Though…I suppose maybe you'd like a costume for yourself as well?"

"Well, I—it….sounds fun, but I don't know what I'd want as a costume."

"Well then, dear, if you do figure it out then, then please don't hesitate to stop by my boutique and tell me."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to—"

"Oh Posh! I'm sure Pinkie Pie would persist anyways, in the pursuit of a Nightmare Night Candy partner. Just let me know anytime that you're ready."

"Oh…um…Thank you, Miss Rarity."

"Oi! There you are! I was thinkin' that you weren't goin' to show up!" Rainbow said as she landed in front of Yugi and the girls. "Now come on, Sheep Boy, we've got a race to start!"

The sun had blazed overhead as Rainbow Dash and Yugi stood on the starting line, Rainbow's tail twitching in excitement.

"You ready, Sheep boy?"

"I guess I am. You?"

"Ha! I was born ready."

A pale yellow Pegasus with a pasty Pink mane fluttered in front of the two, standing in the center of their paths with a flag within her mouth. Yugi had dragged a hoof on the cloudground below his hooves, taking in a breath and focusing, expression hard and serious, which seemed out of place on such a youthful face and soft round eyes.

The Pegasus with the flag had waved it, and in an instant both contestants took off running. Rainbow Dash had taken the lead, while Yugi had tottered behind.

Yugi's mind had caught up with the sensation that his whole body felt, the minute he began running on the clouds. The feel of the wind in his mane, the softness of the clouds, the _view of the vast sky_—It had occurred to him quickly.

He was in the Air. He was technically flying, regardless of injured wings. He began to run much faster than he started out with, letting out a loud whinny as he picked up the pace, closing the gap between him and Rainbow Dash.

Then, it happened. Yugi had instantly passed Rainbow Dash, yelling and laughing in sheer delight and amidst an adrenaline rush.

_Competition be damned,_ He thought, _THIS was FUN._

When Rainbow Dash had first started, she couldn't help but smile to herself. Yugi was already a good distance behind her, so she had this race in the bag at the beginning.

That's when she heard his loud whinny of amusement. In a blur of red and yellow, Yugi had rushed past her, laughing with the biggest grin on his face, just as big as hers was.

"So, ya like the need for speed too, huh, Sheep Boy?" Rainbow had said to herself, smirking devilishly. She could like this kid. She could like him a lot. She picked up the pace, speeding up and soon catching up with the bound Pegasus, soon neck-to-neck.

"You look like you're having fun there, Sheep Boy!" Rainbow Dash said, smiling as they leaned into the curve of a turn.

"Fun? That's an understatement—Rainbow! This is AWESOME!" Yugi had exclaimed, laughing again.

"Well yeah, but can you keep up with me? If you're so into speed, then, prove it!"

She swore she saw him wink at her. In a quick minute, Yugi picked up the pace and was leaving Rainbow behind once again, this time, a fading trail of golden yellow and a neon blue trailed behind him. He was reaching a peak speed, as Rainbow was. It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash had begun topping out for her own peak speed, a trail of rainbow fading behind her.

It wasn't long before they began to outrun the other, Yugi pushing his limits just as hard as Rainbow Dash did. Soon, Acres and Acres of apple trees came in sight below their cloud-track; they were approaching the finish line. Yugi once again began closing the little gap that Rainbow had made between him, and overtook her, running full speed for the finish line.

That's when it happened. As soon as Rainbow tried to cut ahead, he heard a sharp voice cry out, a migraine coming on.

_SNAP OUT OF IT!_

And as if out of nowhere, he felt a hard force _punch_ him across the face, which had made him trip and roll straight into Rainbow, and both tumbled, in a cloud of dust, into the ground and right smack at the edge of the finish line.

When the dust settled, the Townsponies looked at the pile of contestants, and gasped in surprise.

Yugi's left hindleg had touched the finish line before any of Rainbow's appendages touched it.

He won.

The major headache (and subsequent bodyache) Yugi got from the cooldown of his Adrenaline spike and the pain of the punch out of nowhere had been worth the reward (or comfort—his head was absolutely fuzzy so he could not tell which) he got. When he recovered from the first recoil of the "punch", Applejack's family had treated him to a bombardment of pastries and treats, all apple-related and apple-made.

It didn't matter. _It was FOOD. _His body had remembered that he hadn't had a bite to eat (not counting the frosting from the cake he got slammed with) since he woke up today. He began putting it all away, chomping down on Apple Fritters, Apple Pies, Apple Casseroles, Apple Tarts…

Rainbow had begun her own chow-down herself. That Race had burned up a lot of her energy, and she was just as hungry.

"Mhat ma mmmery mmmphhfhhf."

"Mmpph?"

Rainbow swallowed. "That was Impressive, very impressive, Sheep Boy. Sure, ya won due to your hoof touching the finish line first, but still, that was a totally awesome race."

"Oh, thanks…you were pretty awesome too….In fact, that was really fun~" Yugi said, finishing the last of an apple pie. "Though… I think I'd wanna wait before I try again."

"Aww, really? Come on, you have a knack for these kinds of things! Well, if not for racing, maybe for competitions in general! I wouldn't be surprised if you got your Cutie Mark in that race!"

Yugi blinked, and then checked his flank.

Bare as it was before. No Mark apparent. Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, it'll have to come up eventually. Want some more apple fritter?"

"Nah…I think I'm pretty full…" Yugi said with a yawn, getting back up onto his hooves. "So….Rarity makes costumes…?"

"Oh? Well, Rarity makes all sorts of dresses and clothes at the boutique. Why? You're taking up her offer on her making a costume for you?"

"Well, I'll have to see first….I don't have an exact idea what I want yet, but maybe it'll strike me while I'm there."

A few hours passed, and nothing had struck Yugi's mind in the Carousel Boutique, at least, not yet. But, as he had visited, Rarity had taken the pleasure of playing dress up with him with her latest styles.

Needless to say, he was impressed and embarrassed, all at once. She had such a fine grasp on fashion and design, he could give her that to her credit, but being dolled up in so many types of clothes…well…

He may not remember anything, Nor even _wear_ clothes all the time (to which Rarity agreed: "We don't usually _wear_ clothes, but they're there when we need them", she said), but when a powdered wig gets involved, it was often the time to duck out. It was only the next outfit she had him put on that stopped him from doing that.

It wasn't anything too complicated—it was a cape cloak she had on one of her mannequins ("I am still touching it up a bit—a little pet project, but I could make this one to fit you if you like it") that was fastened together with a simple baby pin, since it had no theme and thus, no proper brooch.

But it wasn't the cloak alone that sparked something in Yugi's head. It was the _color._ It was a dark shade of purple—not too dark where it'd blend in with the dark of night entirely, but it wasn't dark enough to be mistaken for black. A Royal Purple, in a sense, or, as he began to think, a Magician-y Purple.

Magician….That's when the image entered his head. A figure that wasn't a Pony like all around—something that stood on its two legs. A long, green staff, or a scepter, held in one hand. An outfit that looked part cloak and part armor, the variation of shades similar to the cloak, with a hat that curved like the point of a crescent moon. He didn't know what it was, but in its head, the figure had a feeling of power around it…Magic power.

Not as dark as the night, but still pretty dark—a master in magic.

_A Dark….Magician?_

His eyes suddenly twinkled. Yes! That was it! That was what that strange creature was called! He remembered his favorite, The Dark Magician! What he wanted struck him clean on like a lightning bolt!

"Miss Rarity, I have an Idea! I know what I want!"

Rarity smiled, seeing the expression of enlightenment on his face—an expression she knew only too well in all of her time as a Fashionista. "You have, darling?"

"Yeah! Um…well, I can tell you. I just…remembered something about it…but I don't think it's something that's…normal here."

Rarity picked up her sketchbook and quill, taking a seat on her fainting couch. "Well then, darling, do tell me, what do you like? In full detail, if you can. And don't leave anything out."

Yugi took in a breath, and then nodded. "I remembered something I…favored. I'm not sure what it is, but I know what it's called; The Dark Magician….."

By the time he had finished his explanation of the detail of his future costume, Rarity had shooed him out of the shop, a twinkling gleam in her eyes; the description of the Magician's design had set many gears into motion into how she was going to modify it into a costume, and she wasted no time in getting to work on it.

He began to walk back to Sugar Cube Corner, the events of the day catching up to his body in a sore, tiring ache. As he did, he looked up at the sky, which was turning from an orange red fade into an abyssal blue, emblazoned with stars that twinkled like diamonds in the sky. As the moon began to rise on the horizon, he couldn't help but smile in fascination…but yet, he had a nagging feeling.

Not of anything in particular…but he felt….sad. Maybe a bit empty inside. It was as if that while he stared up at these very stars, he could just faintly sense that somepony else was doing the same, out there.

"Food for thought?" Twilight's gentle voice spoke from behind him.

"Oh, well…I was just…admiring the night sky a bit, I guess." Yugi said, taking a seat. Twilight sat behind him, looking up herself. "It's just….it's so pretty—it's like someone just painted the sky like this."

"Well, I guess you can say someone has. You see, the Princesses that rule Equestria, they're in charge of the sun and the moon. Celestia always raises the sun and brings the day, while Luna raises the moon and brings the night."

Yugi blinked, surprised. "All…by themselves?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, all by themselves. They're pretty powerful…and, as I learned way earlier, very ancient. They've been around for 1,000 years."

"But Celestia, she looks so….pretty and young. She doesn't look like she'd be so Old."

_You would be surprised, you have seen older._

Yugi blinked at the echo within his head. He had no idea why he had that thought.

"Wait…you said Luna? Who's Luna?"

"Princess Luna? She's Celestia's sister. I haven't seen her in over a year, though. I've been so busy as of late, that I haven't had much of a chance to write to her. I probably should, sometime…"

Twilight had looked to see that Yugi had curled up, fast asleep. She sighed, and using a bit of her magic, levitated him and walked the way to Sugar Cube Corner, and quietly taking him upstairs to Pinkie's room (Pinkie being elsewhere—throwing a late night party for tonight), and tucking him into bed, leaving as quietly as she entered.

All the while, Yugi began to dream.

_He was a small colt, walking along the forest path, all dark and twisted…but yet, he wasn't afraid. It was because he wasn't alone._

_Alongside him walked a taller, lankier Pony—not too skinny to look weak, however. He radiated an aura of confidence. His fur was a tanned, dark brown, with a black splotch pattern adorning his flank….but there were long, long scars on both sides, obscuring the Cutie Mark entirely, as if it was done on purpose to obscure his talent, his destiny. His mane and tail were very similar to Yugi's own in color and fuzzy shape—but the Pony's tail was much longer, as if it took many years for it to grow so long, compared to the fluffy red-black puffball that made up Yugi's tail. The tail had dragged the ground, but in gentle sweeps. _

_The yellow, fluffed out bangs on the taller pony had completely shadowed his eyes, making it impossible to tell the color of them, let alone see them. He had a horn on his head, slightly nicked, like how his left ear was nicked, to which it glowed with a faint red aura, holding a lantern in place with some magic. 'A Unicorn', Yugi thought, until he saw scarred nibs on his back, ripped and scraggly, but looked as if they were once a pair of wings on the tall Unicorn's back. The unicorn's very hooves seem to disappear into the darkness of the ground below, but they were only a fading black in color, the brown fading into the darkness of the line that made up the color of his hooves._

_Yugi felt safe around this strange Unicorn. Was it someone that he once knew?_

"Yugi, are you alright?"_ The Unicorn spoke at last. His voice was deep, a rich baritone, but filled with a familiar concern._

"Oh, I'm fine…It's just….kind of scary…" _Yugi responded back, seeing the Unicorn's face—but still not his eyes. He had a long scar going across the bridge of his snout, to which a lock of blond hair from his bangs had touched as he moved his head._

_The Unicorn gave Yugi a smirk. _"It'll be alright,"_ he spoke with assurance, _"I'm here for you. Nothing is going to get you, I promise."

_That's when the Unicorn stopped, his ears swiveling. He moved his hoof to stop Yugi, who flattened his ears in response._

"Stay behind me. Something is following us." _The unicorn had growled. His whole body arched in tension, as if he was used to this kind of apprehensive feeling. The lantern was set down on the ground as the faint red aura blazed into a bright, burning red._

_Suddenly, a green ball of light was fired at the Unicorn. A shield of red blocked the shot, making the green ball explode in a flash of dazzling light against the Unicorn's shield. He snarled and reared, firing a fireball into the bushes from where the ball had come from._

"I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!" _He had shouted into the darkness_. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

_It wasn't long before menacing red eyes and strange green lights had shown from the shadows, strange creatures crawling out of the shadows. The Unicorn reared, defiant, and fired another fireball, roasting one creature into ashes._

"Yugi, RUN!"

"But—"

"DON'T Worry about me, RUN! RUN, NOW!"

_Startled into a panic, Yugi ran, the creatures all diving at the Unicorn to attack. The Unicorn reared once more and fought back, Red aura-fused spells firing out. The light had faded as Yugi got farther and farther away, fear and panic filling his mind._

_Did he just leave his friend to die? He couldn't think straight, but he kept running, dodging over roots and low branches, not seeing a faint glow from within the spaces of the trees._

_But he did hear somepony following him in hot pursuit, letting out mad, evil little giggles._

"YuuuuuuuuGiiiiiii….." _the owner of the giggles had called, sounding closer than before. Yugi did not stop; the small Pegasus kept running, only taking one glance behind._

_She was entirely in shadow, but he could make out that she was a unicorn from her glowing horn, and one with a wide, frightening grin that gleamed in the darkness. Glowing red eyes had made out the shape of her eyes, and a small green circle had followed in front of her, deep in the darkness. The small Pegasus had kept running, until he banged into solid stone, cornered into a dead end._

_The unicorn reared, letting out another shrill, evil cackle as her horn glowed even brighter. With a bright green flash, she leaped and jumped at Yugi, her gleaming white teeth turning into fangs, letting out a horrifying, vicious roar—like a predator overtaking its prey._


	4. SE: Luna and The Little Game

_That was when_ he woke up. He had fallen off the bed, tumbling onto the floor of Pinkie's room. His head cleared of the nightmare, rubbing his wings, which had stung less, and looked out the window.

Dawn was just on the horizon, the night's frost still apparent on the ground as the sun began to rise. Yugi had looked around at his surroundings. Twilight must've brought him back here long after he fell asleep. But where was Pinkie…?

He soon answered his own question. Pinkie Pie was curled up near a long table, within a pink sleeping bag. She was snoring; bouncy mane all tussled as a party hat remained on her head. Deciding not to wake her, he grabbed the blanket from off of her bed, and gently pulled it over her, deciding to go out to clear his head.

Ponyville was very still and quiet—barely anypony was out, except for Yugi himself. He felt his bandages a little; the aches from touching his wings were barely felt anymore. Maybe…maybe he should try it out…

Carefully removing his bandages, he slowly began to extend his wings. They were of a decent size—neither big nor small, but just a normal size for him. Maybe…just maybe…he should attempt to fly. Taking in a bit of air, he began to flap them carefully.

Just by a little bit, he got off the ground, hovering over it by a few inches. Yugi now and then winced—being unable to stretch them for the past two days had him feel some sore cramps. However, he smiled a tiny smile at his slow progress.

Slowly, he flapped up higher, before speeding up in elevation, and was soon just above the rooftops of the village. Taking in a breath of amazement, he began to fly around, flying high into the cloud cover and enjoying the feel of the wind in his face as he began to think.

_What was that dream all about? Did I know that pony? And that Unicorn…_Yugi shivered, and dove through a cloud, feeling water droplets drench a bit of his fur. _Were they…were they hurting him? What was it that they were doing? And WHO was that pony? A relative? A friend? …ugh…I wish I could remember…_

Yugi flew up again, flying around a small cloud before landing on it. _Did I lose my memories…the moment we got separated? That Dream…was it a memory? That Pony….if he's okay…maybe he's the key to my memories….I just have to find him, is all. Seems to be the best choice, right? But…I don't even know his name…_

Yugi held his head. "Maybe you should tell Twilight everything, as soon as she's awake." He told himself. "She can help."

He looked to the sky, sighing. "…I hope she can help."

This is exactly why he HATED portals. The Ditz-for-a-partner had opened his in what was (to him, basically) the Cold North.

And all he had was a cloak to keep him warm. Puckin' figures—he always get the worst of luck as of late. At least he had a little benefit with his form having changed into a Horse—gods, he missed having warm blood.

But being in the frigid, cold north had added to the list of annoyances that tried his patience. If she had waited for him to catch up (not that he had much to do), or just expressed a little _patience_, He wouldn't be up in a frozen, barren wasteland with no residents of this world in sight.

Hell, this whole wild goose chase by coming into this world might be all for nothing. He had specifically told her that he was secured by Dartz—under proverbial lock and key. But did she listen? No—she insisted that he was in another world. He hated to sound pessimistic, but he basically had front row seats (very bitterly so) to the soul-sucking magic light show. If he finds out he was right, and they had come into this world all for nothing, he was going to personally roast the little No. 2 Mook.

He was having a very bad day, but he looked on the bright side. It wasn't like it was to get worse.

Of course, the minute he tempted fate, in comes trouble in the form of a blizzard and a large black cloud of dark magic. With eyes of green and red.

"I HATE my Luck sometimes." He grumbled under his breath, and turned to run from the large billowing smoke cloud that began to pursue him. He was in no mood to fight and definitely not in the right condition to begin so, and with nobody in sight; he wasn't going to risk being frozen into a nice living statue.

The darkness was already on his heels. He huffed, finally turning to face the cloud, drawing his sword from underneath the cloak, and with all the pressure he could muster, drove it straight into the frozen ground, sending up a wave of magic energy at the cloud.

The being within it snarled and hissed in rage and pain, recoiling from the blast as he kept running, sheathing his sword once more and leaving the Cold North.

He was too much in a rush to notice the prism-like light that faintly shined from the large crack that he made, slowly glowing larger…

Things in the world we knew have been rather odd and rough. The newscasters had been raving about the beginning of the end of the world—people collapsing in the streets, strange lights in the sky, freakish, severe storms appearing much more frequently. There was an issued curfew; no one was allowed outside after dusk, for their safety.

For Domino, it was absolutely strict. If people didn't stay inside due to fear, the curfew (and the cops) was enough to force the citizens inside. For the young populace, it meant paranoia and boredom.

But Not to the more active Bronies. So they couldn't really go out anymore due to the curfew and these strange goings-on to play games (especially for Bronies that were _Duelists_) or hang with friends physically. They had their TV, their food, their internet—and of course, their Ponies.

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic _Had been catching on in real hot popularity as of late. It was now in mid-break, with season three to air later in a couple of months. For now, they watched the episodes of season one and season two, enjoying the colorful little ponies and speculating on all sorts of ideas and thoughts from the show, as well as talking about other daily events with their friends.

However, the Show was about get a major-bombshell for all fans (EPSECIALLY Fans from and within Domino City) on this particular day.

Today, it was supposed to be a normal re-run—Of the Episode _Luna Eclipsed_. They had noticed, oddly, when they checked the information on the guide for this rerun, that the information and synopsis had nothing but Question Marks within it, all save for the title, but they had passed it off as interference from the storms.

But no storm caused what had played in its Cold Open, much to the massive surprise of Domino City, and soon, all the world.

_**(A/N: Oh? Oh Hi! Um…well, I guess you must be the audience. Well, I guess I should tell you what Rainstone said. Sometimes there will be chapter stories based off of episodes from My little Pony: Friendship is Magic, especially between the Season 2 and Season 3 episodes. The noted warnings she told me was: 1—not all the chapters will happen in order of airing, but all featured episodes will happen in order of season, as to not mix up everyone. 2—the "Question Mark" episodes that Domino City and the whole world get to see are very special. Chapters labeled "SE" meaning "Special Episode" means they're an altered episode or an entirely new one In-Universe! She told me to tell you this in case you get confused and lost at some points. Thanks for listening! –Yugi)**_

It had been a few months, and soon, Nightmare Night had arrived in Ponyville. Yugi had arrived back in Sugarcube Corner—finished making his rounds of delivering orders to the customers of the bakery and sweetshop—just in time to change into his costume. For the past few months, Yugi had begun doing small jobs—especially with helping the Cakes and Pinkie Pie with delivering local orders—in order to get to know the ponies better and to earn some bits.

He had grown adjusted to life in the town during this time—though he still had no memories of what his life was like before, but Twilight said she would try her best to help him, and she had tried (and was still trying). However, tonight was going to be fun; he had never celebrated Nightmare Night before, and he wanted to attend the festival.

He had already missed Pinkie Pie—she had gone out early, dressed as…of all things….a chicken. As he reached into the saddlebag containing his costume, he had saw a modified form of the dark purple cloak she had in her Boutique, with a pentagram jeweled brooch (amethyst, from its color) to fasten it, and a note from the Fashionista herself:

"_Yugi, Darling:_

_I thought I would throw in the cloak to add a more mysterious look to your costume, and also to help you keep warm if it gets cold tonight. I'm afraid I won't be joining you all for tonight's festivities, but I hope that you have a splendid time! Do tell me what the girls think of the costume when you can! XOXO –Rarity_

_P.S.: I'm sorry that I couldn't do the hat right…I hope the headband accessory and the staff makes up for it—the staff's gem is made from a real emerald! Only the best for such a challenging costume!"_

Yugi had smiled, and pulled out the costume, putting it on, along with the cloak. Looking in the mirror, he admired Rarity's work. Modified here and there for his body, but nevertheless, it was well done, with love and care…and it had turned out AMAZING.

Putting on the headband and cloak, and grabbing the green staff that leaned on the wall nearby, he had went to see Twilight.

Spike paced within the main foyer of the library, waiting for Twilight. However, Twilight had been taking longer than usual putting on her costume.

"Come On, Twilight! We're gonna be late for the Nightmare Night Festival!"

Twilight had stepped down the stairs, dressed in a blue wizard's hat and cloak, adorned with patterns of moons and stars and bells that jingled, with a yellow band acting as the cloak's fastener, and to complete the ensemble, she wore a long, white fake beard.

Spike scratched his head in confusion. "Are you that….One creepy grandpa from the Ponyville Retirement Village?"

Of Course, Twilight was not amused. "Spike—I'm Starswirl the Bearded!"

No response.

"Father of the anamorphic spell?"

Still no response.

"Did you even READ that book I gave you on Obscure Unicorn History?"

Spike had begun to answer very nervously, when there was a knock at the door.

"Uh…that sounds Important! I'll go get it!" with that, Spike dashed for the door, answering it to reveal a Pony in a dark purple cloak with light purple accents and a pentagram brooch made from a gemstone, a light green staff held in his left forehoof.

"Woah! Uh, um—"

"Evening, Spike! Sorry, did I come too early?" a Light, slightly squeaky but definitely Male voice spoke from under the hood, his right hoof—covered by a dark gray Hoof-glove—reached for the hood and pulled it down, revealing wide violet eyes and a short, fluffy, red-and-black mane with equally fluffy bangs that were a golden yellow—the bangs being held up slightly by a dark purple Diadem-like headband with a light green gem at its center.

"Uh, no—wow, Yugi, I really didn't recognize you under that cloak! So…um, is that the costume Rarity made for you?"

"Oh…well, actually, the cloak is a part of it, but if you let me inside, I'll show you the actual costume."

"Oh, sure!" Spike said as he stepped out of Yugi's way to enter. Twilight had untwisted herself from the position that Spike's dash to the door had given her, and saw Yugi come in. "You look Great, Twilight…but….sorry if I sound a bit lost…who are you dressed up as?"

"I'm Starswirl The Bearded, of course!"

"Starswirl…the Bearded? Oh! That Unicorn Spellcaster I read about in that book you gave me for history study?"

Twilight had given Spike a pointed look at Spike. "That would be right! So…what are you dressed up as? A Spellcaster as well?"

"Somewhat." And Yugi pulled off the cloak, revealing what was underneath. It was a Mage-like costume with a bit of a modern look, plated bits of dark purple armor worn on his shoulders, forlegs and hindlegs, with a darker purple cloth acting as the main cover up of his body. His cloak still fit snugly, blending with the hood on the main part of the costume, and the staff still held in his left hoof as he stood on his hind legs. On his hooves were hoof gloves, adding a bit of a modern touch to the edgy yet peculiar look of the costume. On his waist was an added touch of small black saddle bags and a belt that matched the costume's fabric. Wobbling on his hindlegs, he got back on all fours, holding the staff within his mouth as he got back down.

"Oh, wow! Yugi, this is amazing! …but who are you, this time?"

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to know who it is—I have no idea either, but it's The Dark Magician."

"The Dark Whatzit?" Spike said, looking at Rarity's handiwork on the costume.

"Magician, Spike. It's quite amazing, even though I've never heard or read of that kind of Pony before."

"Yeah, I suppose. Rarity said she wanted to give it a modern look and feel so that I'd feel comfortable in the costume, given that I'll be walking around in it all night." Yugi said, smiling. "I think she did great…wish I had her kind of talent, though."

"Well, it's certainly impressive that you remembered the design. But enough about your memories for now~ Tonight's Your First Nightmare Night!"

There was another knock at the door. "I'll go get it this time." Yugi offered, and went to the door, opening it.

Three young fillies had answered in sing-song, dressed in costumes and wearing satchels of candy around their necks.

"_Nightmare Night, What a Fright, Give us something sweet to Bite!"_

"Awww, aren't you fillies cute?" Yugi couldn't help but fawn a little. Twilight had joined him at the door.

"Evening, Everypony! Great Costumes! …And Happy Nightmare Night, Granny Smith!"

"I should've been asleep 5 hours ago!"

Using her magic, Twilight began to hand out pieces of candy to the small fillies, when one had darted out ahead—dressed as a pirate and waving a small rubber sword. Yugi instantly recognized him as Pipsqueak, one of the Colts that had moved in from Trottingham, and like him, celebrating his first Nightmare Night. While Pipsqueak was talking to Twilight, the little filly girls began looking all around him.

"Wow! What a pretty costume! Are you dressed up as a prince?" the Princess dressed filly asked.

"No he isn't, he's dressed like a knight!" responded the Astronaut filly.

"I think it's amazing~ did Miss Rarity make it for you?" peeped up the Ladybug Filly.

Yugi blushed. "Yeah, she did, but—"

A Loud squawk and a shove snapped Yugi to the attention of a large chicken—or to be more accurate, _Pinkie Pie._ "ENOUGH CHIT-CHAT! Time Is Candy!"

"Aren't you a little too old for this?" Twilight and Yugi had responded in tandem.

"Too Old for free candy?!" Pinkie Pie gasped, "**NEVER.**"

Rolling her eyes, Twilight put a piece of candy into Pinkie Pie's bag, the Chicken-costumed equine smiling.

"So, do you like our costumes, Pinkie?" Twilight said as she poked up her hat a little as Yugi shifted his hooves.

"Oh yeah! Great Costume, guys! You both make an awesome Weirdo Clown and Weirdo Knight duo!"

Yugi had turned several shades of red from that remark. _Weirdo….KNIGHT?! _

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had pecked away at the bowl, robbing it of all its candy. As they left, Twilight had looked rather annoyed.

"CLOWN?! Look at the borders of this cloak! They're hoofstitched!"

"Well…I still think you did a wonderful job." Yugi responded.

"Yeah, it's a great Costume, Grandpa."

Yugi had facehoofed. Spike was not helping. At all.

Yugi had decided to try some trick-or-treating before joining the main festival. Deciding not to carry his satchel around his neck, he used his staff to carry the strap and hold it out, carrying the staff in his mouth (he had opted to say a muffled "Sweets-To-Bite" phrase rather than do the full chant, on the account that his tongue was busy holding the staff within) with the gem faintly glowing from the moonlight.

As he headed to the festival, he looked at the night sky, seeing stars now and then shooting across the sky. He swore though…that now and then, he saw green stars shoot by. He shook it off and joined the festivities, quietly observing before joining in on the fun—he liked the spider toss and apple bobbing the best; though all that came to a stop when Derpy Hooves popped out of the barrel (in a…paperbag costume) and drained the whole tub of water.

Yugi could hear thunder blast from above—coming from Rainbow Dressed as a Shadowbolt. A prank to be had, he assumed. However, he looked to the stage as the Mayor came up….dressed as a clown. With a rainbow wig to boot.

"All the little Ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of…." The Mayor's voice then began to sound with the usual corny scariness, "Nightmare Mooooonn!"

The Costume mostly killed the scariness, but he had gotten curious…who was Nightmare Moon?

In a puff of green cloud, a Zebra appeared, wearing a tattered black robe with a wig that had fake spiders (he assumed), smiling at the crowd that watched.

"_Follow me, and you shall hear soon, about the Tale, of Nightmare Moon."_

Yugi had never been in the Everfree Forest before…though he made a mental note to himself not to come here at night or alone. The forest had reminded him too much of the dark forest he had seen in his dreams. He and the crowd had stopped at a statue of a large, intimidating Unicorn with Wings (An Alicorn, he remembered Twilight saying), rearing and pointing an armored hoof at them. The menacing look on the Alicorn's face had scared him a little, but he didn't show it other than his ears flattening.

"_Gather around, my little dears, I shall tell you about your fears. Of Nightmare Night, So dark and Scary, Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you weary."_

In the middle of this, Zecora had used a strange green dust to create a green, misty version of the Alicorn statue, which flew around and dived at the crowd. Yugi had flinched a little—seeing as how the mist now surrounded them.

"_Every year, we plow the skies, to watch for Nightmare Moon's Watching eyes. For Nightmare Moon wants one thing—to gobble up little Ponies in One quick Swing!_

"_Hungrily, she scours the skies; if she sees nopony, she passes by. If she comes, and all is clear, Equestria Is safe for another year!"_

"Miss Zecora…if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon…then why do we still have to give up our candy?" Pipsqueak had asked.

"_A Perfect question, My little friend; for Nightmare Moon, you must not offend. Fill up her belly, with a treat or two…And she won't return to come and EAT YOU!"_

The next misty illusion of the frightening, fanged Alicorn had sent almost everyone into a panic. Yugi had jumped from being startled, feeling a prickly sensation run up and down his whole body. As much as it seemed to be fear quaking through him…something had told him that it wasn't fear, but the sense that something big was their way.

"LET'S JUST DUMP THE CANDY AND GET OUT OF HERE!"

That's when the wind stirred up, the clouds enclosing around the full moon. In a flash of light, a carriage carrying a cloaked figure had appeared, heading down towards the small crowd of fillies and colts, being pulled by two Pegasi with bat wings and ominous, dark blue armor.

Pinkie had panicked. "AHHH! IT'S NIGHTMARE MOON, RUUUUNNN!"

Everypony had ran away, Twilight going after them in order to reassure their fears.

But Yugi had not moved. As much as his body and mind screamed for him to run away, his legs wouldn't move or budge. As soon as the carriage had landed, lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating a flash of the figures eyes and a grin.

Yugi's legs had suddenly given out under him, and he shut his eyes. Regardless of costume, he was the only Pony left. Somehow, his body had refused to let him run, and now all that waited was to be eaten by Nightmare Moon.

It was all over.

Or so he thought. No attempt to attack him was made, but the figure had stepped near him, her hooves inches away from his snout.

His body had stopped shivering, and he looked up…into a pair of turquoise eyes, which seemed to shine in the moonlight. Her mane was a dark blue hue…and it wavered, sparkling with bits of light, like the night sky made up her whole mane. Her body's fur was as dark as the night sky, and she wore a black crown on her head, and her hooves were tipped with…royal-looking slippers, he supposed?

But it didn't matter too much. He got lost in the Mare's appearance. She was JUST his size, if not a bit bigger, and her body radiated a kind of grace and serenity that the night possessed.

They had both blinked at one another, silence reigning over the two. That was when she spoke.

Or moreso, blew his eardrums out with the volume of her voice.

"**DEAREST GENTLECOLT, MAY I ASK HOW THOU HATH FOUND SUCH A SUITABLE DESIGN FOR A COSTUME BASED UPON A MONSTER NAUGHT FROM OUR DIMENSE? IT HAS BEEN MANY A YEAR SINCE WE HATH SEEN AN INTERPRETATION OF THE MAGUS OF ILLUSION FROM ANOTHER DIMENSE!"**

Yugi had rubbed his ears, his mane blown all askew from the loud force of her voice. "Wait…you…know what I'm dressed up as?"

"**VERILY SO, BUT ONLY A CHANCE GLANCE AT OLD TOMES LONG PAST—WE HATH NE'ER SEEN THE MAGUS OF ILLUSION IN OUR LIFETIMES—TO US, IT IS MERE MYTH LOST T' THE SEAS OF TIME."**

So The Dark Magician—err, the Magus of Illusion—was some sort of mythical creature nopony else has heard of? Odd…

"**SPEAK TO US, YOUNG GENTLECOLT—WHAT IS THOU NAME?"**

He had winced. "Um…err….Thy Name is….Yugi?"

"**YUGI IS THOU NAME?"**

Oh great…was she going to make the sheep joke as well?

"'**TIS AN INTERESTING NAME—THOU MUST HAVE AN EXPERTISE IN THE NATURE OF PLAYING GAMES, DOTH YOU NOT?"**

"huh?"

"**THOU NAME, YUGI, IS A WORD IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE EAST THAT MEANS "GAME" IN THEIR TONGUE—THOU MUST BE THEN, AN EXPERT PLAYER, OR IN THE BUSINESS OF GAMES!"**

Yugi had blinked. _My Name means "Game"?_ But how can that be? He enjoyed playing games here, as it was a small hobby to keep him entertained…But he never got a Cutie Mark playing one.

"Actually…if I am to be honest…I don't know. You see…I don't really have any memories of anything, and I don't have a Cutie Mark." Yugi said, sweeping a bit of the fabric of his costume to the side to show the Bare flank beneath. "I don't know what my talent IS. I'm not even entirely sure if Yugi is even my real name!"

"**THOU DOTH NOT 'EMEMBER ANYTHING AFORE THIS NIGHT, DEAR GENTLECOLT?"**

"No, nothing." Yugi said, frowning. "I wish I could, though. It would help answer questions on my mind.

"**WELL, YOUNG GAME, I WISH THEE LUCK IN FINDING WHAT HATH BEEN LOST TO YOU; I MUST GO AND GREET THE CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE THIS FINE NIGHT—AS A REINTRODUCTION TO OUR FAIR SOCIETY IN THE MODERN ERA!"**

Yugi swore his ears were going to bleed. The cloaked mare had hopped back onto the carriage, riding towards Ponyville as Yugi sat down, recovering from the loud, booming voice of the royal-looking mare.

Well…it couldn't get any worse tonight…could it?

Unfortunately for Yugi, It **DID** get worse, as he soon caught up with Twilight. The Mare—as he soon found out to be Princess Luna herself—had been failing horribly of trying to make friends out of the townsfolk due to her old fashioned ways—booming voice and all. Pinkie Pie was not helping, either—when it seemed like she was making progress, something would slip and make it much worse.

To the point that he had walked into a disaster area when he had tried following Luna. Townsponies were panicking, running all over the place. The Festival of Nightmare Night had become a total mess.

It wasn't until Luna's booming voice had stopped the chaos, if only making the Ponies cower in silence.

"Princess, remember! Watch the screaming!"

"**NO, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE, FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY!"**

Yugi watched as storm clouds gathered, his fur prickling with strange energy as Luna rose into the air, eyes glowing with absolute raw power.

"**SINCE YOU CHOOSE TO FEAR YOUR PRINCESS RATHER THAN LOVE HER, AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION, WE DECREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHOULD BE CANCELLED….**

**FOR-****EV-****ER!"**

And in a flash of light, Princess Luna had disappeared, the wind dying down, and the crackling that Yugi's fur had made had stopped, smoothing out the fur once more.

Everypony, as he observed, was absolutely with the decree. The Small Pegasus had frowned at all this.

"…why do they fear her?"

"Huh?"

"Why do they fear Princess Luna?" Yugi asked once more.

"I'm…not sure. I mean, Nightmare Moon, I could understand, but—"

"What's the connection, Twilight?" Yugi asked. "Please. Tell me."

"…I thought you said you read up on your history."

"I did. But not about this. Luna seemed like she'd be ok…okay, she's a little loud…but she wasn't a bad pony. So why are they scared? She's nothing like Nightmare Moon."

Twilight sighed. "Yugi…she WAS Nightmare Moon."

Yugi's jaw seemed to drop a little in shock. "bu-but—"

"I can't explain all of it to you…but, Luna was once Nightmare Moon. While the legend they say about her during Nightmare Night is an old tradition….it isn't exactly true. A long time ago, a thousand years to be exact, both Celestia and Luna had their respective jobs in the terms of night and day….but, while Ponies played in Celestia's daylight, Luna couldn't understand why they had shunned and slept through the nighttime she creates. She had gotten jealous and grew bitter with darkness, according to legend, and turned into Nightmare Moon, wanting to cast the entire world into Eternal Night."

"…but it didn't happen, did it?"

"No. it didn't. Against her will, Celestia had to use the elements of Harmony on her to…"

"to what?"

"Well…Imprison her within the Moon."

Yugi had gained a look of disbelief and anger. "FOR A THOUSAND…..YEARS?! ALONE?!"

Twilight winced. "I know it sounds harsh…but it's the truth. If there was another way, Celestia would've taken it. She cares about her sister very much, it's just…"

Something clicked in Yugi's head. Flecks of gold, shimmering in the dark, but had no shape. Within these flecks, lied something that was sealed in them.

Alone. Alone for many, many years.

"I've got to talk to her, Twilight."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Just give me a signal when you need me…try to convince Pinkie Pie that there's no need to be afraid. I'm going to try to fix this."

"Ok…just be careful."

Moving the cloak out of the way and carrying the staff in his mouth, Yugi took to the air and began flying around, looking for Luna.

He found her on the outskirts of town, sitting all alone. Making his move, he landed.

"Princess?"

The Princess turned her head, looking at Yugi with a frown. When she spoke this time, she didn't speak as loud and booming as she had before.

"….Hath thou come to just scream and run in terror from us too?" Luna said, a tone of depression ladling her voice. All confidence in her seemed to have left the Princess of the Night, to which Yugi could sympathize.

"…No. Princess Luna, I'm not scared of you, at all. In fact, I don't understand a thing about how everypony else is scared of you."

Luna laughed bitterly. "We cannot comprehend such atrocious behavior either….but, we figure we are just not considered kind, anymore. The fair Ponies, our dear public…they must see us as a wretched beast. And we only have ourselves to blame. It is alright, little Game. You doth not need to pretend your bravery. We know that thou must be as scared of us as all the rest are."

Yugi stood his ground, and suddenly Luna's attention was caught. Yugi was now radiating his own aura of confidence.

"No. I'm not afraid of you. I actually WANT to be your friend, Princess. I know what it feels like…being alone, for a long, long time. I don't know HOW I do, to be honest. But I do know what it feels like to have no friends. I know what it feels like to be unappreciated, or to be scorned and insulted….I really…don't know why, but I completely know it."

Yugi had moved, setting his staff down and sitting up close to the Princess. "….so…you were sealed in the Moon, for a thousand years?"

"Aye, we have." Luna spoke, frowning. "Twilight hath told you?"

"Yes…." Yugi said, looking at the moon. "….Sort of unfair, isn't it? For a thousand years."

"It seems so…but…as we have come to understand, our sister had no other choice. We could not be reasoned with, nor could we see the error of our judgment and ways." Luna looked into Yugi's eyes directly. "As we see fit…The pain of a lengthy separation was enough to show the error of thy ways...but it seemed that it would only take the Elements of Harmony to return ourselves back to normal, if not without a loss of power."

Yugi winced at that. A Lengthy separation. He had to think of that Unicorn from his dreams, the one that got swarmed by those strange monsters.

"Little Game…thou hath no memories of your life before all this…but yet you comprehend the pain we feel?"

Yugi nodded. "Princess….No…Luna, I really don't know or remember my life in full detail…but I know what it's like to be alone, with no friends. I can understand a lot of it. But…It's not forever. Sometimes, you have to keep trying—so what if they cower? Don't give up! But….don't push it, either. Somewhere out there are friends that'll stick by your side no matter what….but you have to keep trying. Giving up solves nothing."

Luna blinked. "….Thou speak with wisdom beyond th' years, Little Game. Surely thou must have friends of your own by now?"

"well…just Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie for now…but…I wouldn't mind being your friend."

That's when Yugi extended a hoof for Luna.

"So thou wish to make a friendship with us…?"

"I do."

Luna had slowly reached for Yugi's hoof, Yugi and Luna not seeing the black thundercloud looming near them.

Rainbow Dash had stomped down, now catching Yugi's attention. Yugi was not spooked…but the Chicken Pie behind him WAS, much to his own dismay. Yugi had given a quick "just-one-second" smile to Luna before chasing after Pinkie, Twilight blocking her way as Yugi tackled her.

"Pinkie! She's Changed! She's not Evil or scary anymore! Don't you remember the first time we met her?"

Pinkie looked at Twilight and Yugi. "Well, Duh, of course I do!"

Yugi blinked. "….what did you say?"

"Of course I remember Princess Luna! Did you really think that I thought she would gobble me up or trying something funny? Besides, I'm as big as her! How is she gonna gobble me up?"

"Then why do you keep running away and screaming?"

"Sometimes, it's really just fun to be scared!"

Something snapped in Yugi's head.

"Fun…to be scared?"

Pinkie nodded.

"You were pretending to be frightened because it was…..Fun?"

Pinkie nodded again.

Twilight had suddenly noticed the bit of smoke coming off of his mane and tail, his violet eyes turning a bright shade of red.

In a shrill whistle, Yugi's mane and tail had BURST into bright blue flames, all of his costume being forcibly blasted off.

"**THAT. IS NOT. FUNNY, PINKIE!"**

Pinkie had winced, her curly mane slightly deflating into a more wavy shape.

"**HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I SCREAMED AND RAN AWAY FROM YOU JUST BECAUSE IT'S FUN TO DO SO, AND NOT TELL YOU SO, HUH?! SHE WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE FRIENDS, AND YOUR LITTLE 'JOKE' DID NOT HELP! AT ALL!"**

"W-Well jeez, Yugi, I didn't think—"

"**WHAT?! THAT YOU WOULD BE HURTING HER FEELINGS?! SHE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND A BLESSED WORD ABOUT ALL THIS! ALL BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO ACT SCARE—"**

He stopped, seeing what was wrong with Pinkie. She had looked extremely terrified and upset, and it was no game of pretend. The flames died down, his eyes returning to normal, and suddenly guilt and shame washed over him.

"…I….I'm Sorry, Pinkie. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just…It was really mean of you, to do that and not tell her you're not scared of her."

Pinkie had blinked, and her bouncy curl to her mane returned. She soon began to laugh. "Silly Yugi! Of course I was gonna tell her! But I was gonna wait just a little longer! But I didn't know I hurt her feelings by not telling her soon enough…" Pinkie said, frowning a little.

"I wanna be friends with Princess Luna too! …I just thought she'd understand it was all a joke at first."

Yugi crossed his hooves, giving a pointed look.

"Well, ok, ok! But really, it IS fun to be scared! That's the whole point of ghost stories and events like Nightmare Night! Even if it isn't scary, it makes it much more fun if you pretended to be!"

"Now how would that make any—"

Bing. It made sense to Twilight now.

"Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"

"No I'm not! I'm a Chicken!"

"Wait…what are saying, Twilight?"

"It's Fun to pretend to be scared! I know how we can fix this, Yugi! We just have to talk to Luna about it."

After Yugi (with Pinkie's help) recollected and donned his costume once more, all three went to Princess Luna.

"Princess Luna! We've figured out why you're having so much trouble being liked!"

"Forgive me if I withhold my Enthusiasm." Luna had said flatly.

"Come on, come with us! We'll explain everything on the way!"

Luna had given Twilight a quizzical look, but she had followed along Yugi's side, Pinkie bouncing next to them.

"Princess?"

"Hmm? Yes, Pink one?"

"…I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings with running away and screaming. I didn't mean it—it was just to have fun! And I was gonna tell you too…"

Luna had blinked, but gave Pinkie a small smile when she looked to Yugi and back to Pinkie Pie. "We Understand…But Thou should tell us if thou will be playing such jokes—our sister says we cannot comprehend this thing one calls….'sarcasm'? Nor can we tell if such an act is pretend, at least in this day and age."

"Oooh! You really must've missed out! Don't worry, Princess! With this, we can make it right! I'll be right back!"

"…now what exactly is this is the question that we now pose…"

"I…think I know what Twilight has planned."

Twilight knew hanging onto a pair of fake vampire fangs would come in handy tonight. Luna had blinked confusedly at the Unicorn.

"You want us….to temporarily disguise ourselves as Nightmare Moon….to scare the children?"

"Yes, that's the plan! You see, they're not really scared of you for who you really are…but it doesn't stop one from pretending for the sake of fun! Trust me, if you can do this, they'll like you."

"We…are not so sure this will work."

Yugi put a hoof on Luna's back. "Don't worry…I'm sure it'll work."

Luna had smiled a bit, and put the fangs in her mouth. "Thush thish akkessory neeth to be in ou' moufs?"

Yugi reached for Luna's mouth. "Wait, hold on, you have them in backwards…may I?"

"Aye, yew kan touch the wayol mouf."

Luna had opened wide, the fangs falling out, and with a quick turn around and a proper fit in, he put in the fangs right.

Luna had moved her jaw up and down, the vicious looking fangs poking out of her mouth. She couldn't help but suppress a giggle. "These false teeth….are very amusing. We are greatly amused, indeed! What would I not give to give our sister a wee joke scare with them; thank you, Little Game."

Yugi smiled, slightly squeaking. "You're welcome~"

The bushes rustled. "Ahh! Quick, hide!" Twilight exclaimed, all diving into the bushes as Yugi and Luna were dragged along.

Sure enough, the children from town were gathering at the statue, leaving what they believed to be the last candy offering for the Last Nightmare Night.

Pipsqueak was the last to make his offering. "Goodbye, Nightmare Night…Forever…"

That's when the wind began to howl.

"**CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! WE ARE GREATLY PLEASED WITH YOUR OFFERINGS! WE ARE SO PLEASED THAT WE SHALL EAT IT…INSTEAD OF EATING YOU!"**

Sure enough, everyone ran screaming, disappearing into the bushes. "Nightmare Moon" had watched them go, turning back to normal and spitting the fangs out.

"That…actually was quite amusing. But we are not sure if that had worked."

"Just wait."

"F-For what? For them to scream some more?"

That's when Luna's mane had been tugged. Looking down, she saw Pipsqueak and the other small children, peeking up at her.

"Um…Princess Luna….I know there's not going to be anymore Nightmare Night…But suppose, maybe, you can come back again next year, and scare us again anyway?"

Luna blinked, looking to Yugi and Twilight, who nodded gently in assurance.

"Child….art thou saying that you…Liketh me to scare you?"

"It's really fun! Scary, but fun!"

"It…is?"

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year because of it!"

Yugi could see the happiness in Luna's eyes.

"Well….then, we'll just have to…**BRING NIGHTMARE NIGHT BACK!"**

Pipsqueak was blown back a little, but Yugi had caught him with his hooves. He couldn't help but notice the smile on Pipsqueak's face.

"She's my favorite Princess, ever!"

The little fillies and colts agreed with Pipsqueak, chittering and squeaking in delight and happiness.

Luna had smiled, her eyes dancing with absolute Joy. Looking up, her gaze met with Yugi's, and he smiled back, just as happy…

But her smile. That gentle smile…it had reminded him so much of someone…but whom?

A twig snapped in the distance, snapping him out of the held gaze. Quietly, Yugi had sunk low into the bushes, sneaking towards the source of the sound…and listened carefully.

"Well, well, look what we've got here…"

"Fillies! And Colts! And even an Alicorn!"

"heheh, boys, we are gonna eat good tonight!"

Yugi muffled a yelp of surprise, seeing the group before them. They were a group of scruffy looking creatures—griffins he supposed—dressed like outlaws…

And probably WERE outlaws. _Planning, of all things, to eat his friends and the children!_

"_Little Game, What art thou doing?"_

Yugi jumped, covering Luna's mouth. _"shh! We're being watched!"_

"_By whom, pray tell?" _Luna continued…but not from her mouth. Yugi could hear her voice within his own head.

"…_.How are you able to do that?"_

"_Why, 'tis th' oldest spell in th' book! We have learned how to talk quietly within th' heads of whom we choose with it. Now, pray tell, what troubles our friend?"_

"_There are bandits right there. Griffin ones. They're planning to surround and eat the kids!"_

"_Pony-eating bandits?! Aye…that is very troubling. But if we try to impede them, they may overpower us all in quest to appease their appetite…."_

Yugi scrunched his brows in thought. Then he got an idea.

"_Princess…Get Twilight, and tell her I want her to try a spell out on me. Also….I want you to teach me, real quick, how to use the Traditional Royal Canterlot Voice…."_

The children began to get scared the minute they heard evil, hungry-sounding cackles. Twilight had stayed close, as well as Luna, as Griffins came out of the bushes.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here! Some cute liddle trick-or-treaters and a princess to top! Looks like we've got appetizers, a main course AND dessert!" said one with three scars over his right eye.

The Griffins all laughed again, the children huddling up and shaking in fear. Luna, however, stood defiant, but wary. Something about these Griffins seemed off to her.

"You shall not bring harm to these young children under our watchful eye!" She said, stamping her hoof down. "If thou wishes to fight, then do thy worst!"

The Griffins laughed again, a faint, eerie green glow shining from around their necks, as their eyes turned a strange shade of red. "Oh, I wouldn't be sure about that, Princess. We have power. Power enough to take out the Princess of The Night herself!"

Luna refused to tremble or cower, but the magic she sensed brought her a bit of rising alarm. Something about it seemed familiar…too familiar. But, for the life of her, she couldn't remember why or what exactly.

Regardless, Luna and Twilight stood their grounds, summoning magic to them. Luna had been the first to launch a dark blue ball of energy at the leader Griffin, but the leader griffin had blocked it, summoning a green fireball within his talons. With a smug smirk, he launched it at Luna, to which Twilight had barely managed to block with a shield spell.

"What kind of magic is THAT, Princess?"

"We are not sure….It is familiar, but we swear, we have not felt or seen th' likes of it before…"

Luna this time blocked another shot of green fire with her own shield, the children beginning to scream. The griffins were closing in, and they were all terrified.

"Where are thou, Little Game…?" Luna muttered under her breath, blocking another fireball before her magic sputtered.

Were these fireballs draining her of her Magic?!

It wasn't long before the crazed Griffins charged at them all, swiping at them with sharp talons and evil glints within their eyes. Luna reared and rammed at one, sending the griffin sprawling into a tree. Twilight continued to use her magic to shoot down others in the sky, but as they began to rush her and Luna, she found it very difficult to manage a clear shot at one before being attacked by three more.

They were moving incredibly fast, and were using strange Magic as well, which it made it hard to predict their attacks. "Princess, if we don't retreat soon, they're going to overpower us!"

"Just wait, Twilight Sparkle! These Ruffians are no match for the Spirit of The Night that we command!"

"Ha! Spirit of The Night! Let us see it then!" The Leader Griffin said, charging another fireball within his talons.

That was when the sky darkened, and the thunder boomed and flashed. In Confusion, the Griffins had stopped their attack, looking around in confusion.

_**(A/N: For Full effect, imagine the following loud lines being spoken by Dan Green, as deep and as LOUD as you can imagine—possible hamminess included, with the touch of the Royal Canterlot Voice)**_

"**WHO DARES THREATEN OUR PRINCESS?! SPEAK NOW, WHO!?" **A voice had BOOMED, lightning flashing through the darkened sky.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"**MWAHAHAHAHA! I CANNOT BE SEEN…ONLY FELT WITHIN THE FORCES OF THE NIGHT WIND, THROUGH THE BLESSED LIGHT OF THE MOON AND STARS, AND THROUGH THE VERY DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT ITSELF! FOR I AM….THE SPIRIT OF THE NIGHT!"**

The Leading Griffin blinked in disbelief. "The Spirit of The Night? Ha, preposter—"

"**SILENCE! YOU ACCURSED FOOLS HAVE THREATENED OUR VERY PRINCESS, THE MARE THAT BRINGS FORTH THE HEAVENLY BODIES OF THE SKIES ABOVE INTO VIEW WITH HER BEAUTIFUL NIGHT! WE SHALL SEE FIT TO PUNISH YOU—TO TAKE OUR REVENGE FOR SUCH AN INSULT TO THE NIGHT'S VERY NAME!"**

The wind howled as a blackish blue vapor had appeared in the sky, twisted and snarled, with glowing eyes peeking from their formless shape.

"**FOR DISTURBING THE PEACE OF THE NIGHT AND SWEARING TO DEVOUR THE INNOCENT….WE SHALL SKIP OUR OFFERINGS…"**

Then a long, fang-filled mouth stretched into view.

"**AND DEVOUR YOU INSTEAD!"**

The vapor charged at the Griffins, roaring. The glow from around their necks had snuffed out, the Griffins panicking and retreating from the snarling monster within the mist as it chased them, kicking up obscuring clouds of black smoke.

The Leader Griffin, terrified just like his men, retreated immediately, losing all courage and arrogance against this terrifying spirit. A stone snapped off from around his neck in his retreat, and soon he and the griffins had disappeared deep into the forest.

The vaporous spirit had landed, looking around.

"**Ok, Guys, the coast is clear!"** the spirit said, speaking in a deep, refined baritone. The clouds cleared, a few Costumed Pegasi appearing, among them was Derpy and Rainbow Dash.

"Did we do good, Mr. Yugi?" Derpy spoke, still hopping on a cloud and producing lightning bolts with every crumple of her paper-bagged hooves.

The vapor cleared from around the aforementioned pony, the small Pegasus spitting out the false fangs within his mouth. **"Yeah, you did well, Derpy. Thanks for helping!"**

Derpy gave a pleased smile, still bouncing upon the cloud. "I'm So happy you said that, Mr. Yugi!"

ZAP! A Lightning Bolt had struck both her and Rainbow Dash, charring them just a bit. Rainbow Dash had facehoofed, and grabbed Derpy, making her stop before she bounced any more on the thunder-filled cloud.

"**Princess Luna, Twilight, thank you for holding them…**" Yugi coughed, clearing his throat of the spell that was cast on him. "Thanks for holding them off long enough where I can set it all up." He spoke at a quieter, hoarser tone, his voice once again normal.

"You're welcome, Yugi." Twilight said, soon the sound of worried townsponies and parents began to come into earshot.

Twilight went over to the stone that had fallen off of the Leader Griffin, Yugi following behind. Using her magic, she carefully picked it up to inspect it.

"What is this? Some piece of an emerald?" Twilight said, squinting. "A bit light colored to be an emerald...could be glass or…"

"Here, let me see." Yugi said, holding out his hoof. Twilight had then put the stone within the hoof.

She didn't expect him to scream, just like he didn't expect the stone to light up.

Yugi dropped the stone, hissing in pain and in a panic, stomped on the stone, crushing it into dust. It _BURNED _him, leaving on a small burn-mark on his hoof. He had no idea WHY it burned him, but it did—and it was not an experience he wanted to feel. He winced, holding his hoof a bit as the pain throbbed.

Luna had walked over carefully, looking at Yugi's hoof and quietly focusing, her magic surrounding it and healing the burn as soon as it could. The pain was still there, but it was slowly turning into a dull ache for Yugi.

"What the hay-bale….was that?" Yugi said, moving his hooves.

"We are not sure…but it is no magic that is familiar to its kinship. We shall…try our best to investigate this strange aura."

Yugi had yawned. "o-okay, Princess..."

Twilight steadied Yugi, noticing how his violet, owlish eyes had begun to flutter shut. Luna put a forehoof to her chin.

"Perhaps thou should likely rest."

"Here, in the forest…? But, what if they come…back?"

"Do not fear, my friend. We shall handle them if they dare to threaten the citizens."

"Okay, Princess…" Yugi said, dazed. He had never felt so tired before…. "When will I…see you again?"

"Sleep, Little Game. You are our friend now….perhaps we shall see you within thy dreams…rest, and let your weariness cease."

_My dreams…_

Yugi had finally fallen asleep, the last thing he heard was from Twilight, speaking:

"_Princess…I know Zecora gave Yugi some of the powder, but…did you turn it that dark a blue….?"_

_**(A/N: as per the usual order, I do not own MLP or Yu-Gi-Oh! Some reviews so far would be appreciated. The next chapter will be short and will come up quicker if everything works right.)**_


	5. Goodnight, Yugi, Sweet Dreams!

_**(A/N: just a recommendation, but I suggest listening to the song "Mysterious World", "Hope-Light Arrangement 3" and "Goodnight" from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity while you read this chapter.)**_

_Yugi was not aware that now_ he was in a dream. It felt too real to be a dream…too vivid, too lifelike.

He was a room, lying on a bed. Slowly rising to his hooves, he looked around. It didn't look like Pinkie's room at all….but rather a room that felt so strangely familiar. It was dark out, still, but the moonlight filtered in through a skylight on the ceiling, shining on a desk that was nearby the bed itself. Around, however, were various toys and games that a child would delight themselves in.

There was a tall, thin mirror, propped near where there was a closet. This whole room felt familiar to him, but yet…he had never been in it before. Was it apart of another lost memory?

"_Yugi…"_

Yugi's ears swiveled. He heard it—someone calling for his name. Was that…Luna's voice, though?

"Luna?" the small Pegasus said, hopping off the bed and heading towards the door.

"_Yugi…"_

Nudging the door open, Yugi was greeted with a pitch black abyss. However, as soon as he opened the door wide, the darkness lit up with all sorts of stars, glittering and lighting a golden path for him. He began to step on the path carefully, his short tail swishing behind him as the door closed shut, once he was on the path fully.

That's when he looked up. The sight of the stars around him….it was beautiful to behold. He couldn't tell if it was just bits of light, or he was enveloped in the night sky itself. He began to walk, looking around.

"_Yugi…."_

Suddenly, as he walked, stars streaked by him and landed ahead of him on the path, as it led to a large, golden saucer-like platform. Slowly, as the stars collected, the shape had formed into a lanky shape of an Equine, before the light dispersed, and revealed a Unicorn.

_The Unicorn from my dreams…?_

The Unicorn in question had looked around him, as if in a place he did not recognize.

"Hello?" Yugi spoke, his voice echoing within the darkness. The Unicorn had turned his head, snapping to the sound of Yugi's voice like it was a bell.

It was the first time that Yugi saw the eye color of the Unicorn—a brilliant, blazing Crimson. But the light within them appeared dulled, as if he was missing something.

"Yugi…?" the Unicorn spoke slowly and softly, as if the small Pegasus far ahead of him was like a dream, a mirage that he hoped was real.

The small Pegasus had nodded, gently tilting his head. The look of almost disbelief on the Unicorn's face had worn away, a smile and wide grin appearing on his face—he was happy…it was like he hadn't seen him in such a long time.

"Yugi!" The Unicorn said, running towards the Pegasus.

Yugi's hooves began moving out on their own, from a slow trot into a run—suddenly, he felt something. Joy, happiness—A feeling of relief. Was he finally reuniting with this Pony? Was he separated from the Unicorn so long that as soon as they saw each other, the emptiness of missing one another had been filled with this happiness?

He didn't know. But he had known now, this Unicorn was his friend, a friend that missed him dearly. He almost missed the tears that flew off from the Unicorn as they ran at a dead sprint at one another.

They were going to be together again. That was what mattered, Yugi thought. _But…who is he…?_

Before the two could even fall into an embracing hug, a bright, painful flash of green light had went off, setting off a throbbing pain within Yugi's head.

He had almost missed how the path had given out underneath his hooves as he began to fall, the Unicorn reaching at Yugi in vain, a look of pain and despair on his face.

"_YUGI! YUGI, COME BACK!"_

Yugi could only scream as he fell, hearing the insane giggles of the shadowy unicorn that would chase him within his dreams surround him, the Unicorn's pained expression soon fading into the darkness.

_Yugi _had woken up, the nighttime light still filtering through the window of Pinkie's room. Once again, he was in Pinkie's bed, though Pinkie had been curled up next to the bed this time, fast asleep. Both their costumes were hung within the closet with care, their candy sacks sitting on the table (by the looks of her cheeks, he assumed she already took a few pieces before falling asleep).

_Another Dream…_Yugi thought, lying his head down on the pillow. He felt disappointed—and sad. That Unicorn probably was his friend…a friend that, maybe right now, was missing him terribly.

But he barely knew anything about him. No memories of him at all, but that Unicorn…felt familiar. And he…he looked so happy to see him, as if it was some sort of wish come true. Yugi had felt the same way—even if he couldn't remember anything at all.

Yugi looked to Pinkie, who was fast asleep on the floor, curled up like a little dog at rest. He couldn't help but smile at her. While sometimes her acts were questionable, she was really a friend that only wanted to see somepony smile.

"psst….Pinkie…I know you can't really hear me now…" Yugi said, bending down a bit close, head still on his pillow. "…but I'm glad that I'm here in Ponyville…and that I got to meet you and your friends. You are really, really random, to be honest, and I can't really stay mad at you when you do something questionable….but…you're an amazing friend. I don't know how you do it—make everypony smile like you do…but, whenever you begin spreading cheer, it just…for me, it feels like a ray of sunshine."

Yugi flexed his wings a little, sighing. "I really wish I could remember if I had any friends before arriving here. I want to know what my life was before this…but…I feel happy here in Ponyville. It's like you and Twilight, and Rainbow…even Luna…it's like you're filling this hole that I have, if only for a little while. I always feel like, though…that somewhere, out there, there's a Pony that misses me. Maybe I had a lot of friends too—and it's more than one….but…still, I wish I could remember them."

Then Yugi's voice dropped to a low, very quiet whisper.

"_But….if I don't remember…I hope you can accept me as a true friend. If I don't remember my old memories…then I don't mind making new ones here. Please, let me be a part of your memories, so we can share them together. As friends."_

Yugi then yawned, curling up under the blankets and falling asleep once more. He didn't notice that Pinkie had gotten up, having listened to him speak.

She smiled, resting her head next to Yugi's pillow, speaking back in a whisper.

"_Of course, silly! We can share all sorts of memories together! Because you're already my friend! I promise, Yugi—if you can't remember your old memories, then we can make some super-duper new ones! Together!"_

With a smile, Pinkie Pie had taken a crescent-shaped candy from her candy sack and placed it on the pillow, next to Yugi's head as he slept.

"_Goodnight, Yugi. Sweet dreams."_ Pinkie Pie had whispered, curling up once more on the floor (after circling her spot three times), and falling asleep, her curly, poofy tail curled around her body as she slept.


	6. SE: The Lost Element, Pt 1

_In our world, The Internet had just _EXPLODED with the speculations of the strange "Alternate Episode". A Pegasus Pony that looked like the King Of Games—No, a Pegasus Pony that WAS the King Of Games—had appeared on the show—full speaking lines and all! The fanbase went wild with speculation.

Questions were raised about it, rumor-based topics sprung up; "Yugi Motou: King Of Bronies?" "Amnesiac Pony Put into show for Duel Monsters promotion?" "'Luna Game': Luna Eclipsed Episode has a Duelist cameo!" "Rarity's Dark Magician Costume—Duel Monsters in Equestria?"

Many had sent in information about it to Hasbro, to which they had replied they had NO idea how there was an alternate episode of _Luna Eclipsed_, Let alone a Pony like the "Yugi" Pony in the show. Even the Show's creators, directors and producers were baffled.

Nevertheless, the episode had blasted up even more in popularity, given all the Duelists that were baited due to the newcomer Pony that apparently appeared in it.

That was when a New episode had popped up—an absolutely NEW one. For _Season Two._ Aside from the title, Question marks appeared as its information…but it didn't matter. Everyone flocked around to watch it.

Especially one Rebecca Hawkins, who had first ignored the rumors….until she flicked on the TV to the "New Episode"…

"Um…girls? I don't think this will help me get my Cutie Mark." Yugi said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Oh come on, gettin' cold feet? I'm SURE it'll help you get your Cutie Mark, Mr. Yugi!" Scootaloo chirped, strapping on her helmet as her companions did the same.

"But don't you think it's kind of dangerous to do this at your age?"

"Ya nevah know what's yer talent 'til ya try!" Applebloom said. " 'sides, that's why you're going first!"

Yugi did not enjoy that thought. He tightened the strap on his helmet as he sat in the barrel of the cannon.

"Seriously, I don't think we'll get a talent in being Pony Cannonballs. Can't we try something a little safer, girls?"

"Oh come on, don't be such a baby! It's not like you're going to get shot straight to moon! We'll be shooting you from here to Sweet Apple Acres!"

Yugi had huffed, his breath visible in the cold air. _Where in the hay-bale did they even GET a cannon to shoot Pony cannonballs out of anyhow?!_ Yugi thought, hearing the striking of a match.

"Ready, Mister Yugi?" Sweetie Belle said, peeking into the barrel a bit.

"Yeah…I guess since I don't have a choice...!"

"Alright! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PONY CANNONBALLS, YAY!"

BOOM! The small Pegasus had been shot straight out of the cannon and through the air. He had pierced holes into in-the-way clouds, whizzed past the actual landing target….and had sped towards Canterlot.

Meanwhile, Luna had been quietly reading within her room in the castle, the snow falling gently outside her window. Her shift in duties wouldn't start until nighttime, and Celestia insisted that she take a small break from Star-arranging and investigating the strange events that happened the last few months prior.

"_Why don't you visit Yugi and his friends in Ponyville again?"_

"_Nay. We wouldn' wish to intrude on their goings-on. It is enough that the Little Game visits us at our spot every night to talk and help us."_

"_Alright, if you insist, Luna."_

Luna, however, couldn't help but think of Yugi now and again. He kept visiting her whenever she arrived on her favored hilltop to raise the moon, just to talk, and to jest. Sometimes, he came with Pinkie Pie, who had always brought something for all of them to share and eat. She enjoyed his company, yes…

But, the way he acted around her…it was like he was used to beings like her. Why was that so? And still….around him hummed a strange energy…as positive one, like the elements of harmony…but a bit stronger. Just who was this mysterious Pony? And was it possible that such a feeling of energy…a feeling of purity, perhaps, could signal that he was a…

KA-BAM! The Castle had been shaken by the force of a blast. Luna, suddenly expecting revolt, charged towards the source of the noise.

Shining Armor had seen a lot of weird things during his daywatch as captain, but the force that blew him back into the wall took the cake. A Small Pegasus with a fluffy, black-red mane with yellow bangs (along with a helmet that had cracked) had just crash-landed in the wall, and was stuck there, dazed and jaw open, tongue lolling out.

_Thank Celestia I'm wearing armor, or I would be in pain instead of sore,_ Shining Armor thought to himself as he pulled himself out of the wall, debris falling off of him.

"Captain Armor!"

Shining Armor immediately went into a Salute due to the approaching Princess. "Yes, Luna, Ma'am?"

"What is the meaning of th—Oh! The Little Game! Hath thou come to see us?"

Yugi had wiggled, wobbling on his hooves as he got free from the wall. "I guess so," He said, in a dazed tone of voice. "Say Princess…did I get a Cutie Mark or somethin'?"

Luna inspected the colt's flank. "Nay, you have no Cutie Mark."

"….I told them that Pony Cannonballs were a bad idea for gettin' one." With that, Yugi promptly collapsed, and fainted.

Yugi had groggily come to, feeling the soft touch of silk on his body and under his hooves. Looking all around, he was within a lavish room, dark in its colors, with the ceiling painted to look like the night sky. The bed he was in was a Canopy bed, which sat across from a fireplace, to which it stood empty and unlit. There were charts and books sitting about, along with some scrolls and parchments sitting on a small, old fashioned working desk in another corner. On the floor was a symbol of an ivory white crescent moon, with the color of the floor around it being off-black.

"Aha! The Little Game awakens!"

Yugi fell out of the bed in surprise from Luna's sudden appearance, back hooves sticking up in the air. "Do you have to do that…?"

"Ah, my apologies, Little Game. We did not mean to startle you." Luna spoke softly, lighting the fireplace and the small blue lanterns about in the room with a spell. "Hath thou recovered from your surprise entrance?"

Yugi blinked, before he had remembered that he was fired from a huge cannon in an attempt to get a Cutie Mark.

"Yeah…I'm still a bit sore, but it's not that bad…." Yugi squinted. "You look…different."

And he was rise on it. Luna was now a lighter blue in color, her mane shorter more normal looking, as her tail was curled in shape, but was as normal as the Mane she sported.

"Ah? You mean we look different from when we first you, Little Game? That is because we have decided to….how do you say it? "Cool down" until the nighttime comes. Our Sister has mandated that we take the day off until we can raise the moon and bright forth the night." Luna said, stretching her wings a bit.

"But enough chatter. What has happened for you to so suddenly embrace us with such a surprising visit?"

"Would you believe that I got volunteered to test for a Cutie Mark in Pony Cannonball stunts?"

"Ah yes. The Cutie Mark Crusaders. We have heard of them. Hath thou been enlisted into their ranks?"

Yugi shifted his hooves. "Not exactly. I sort of…keep an eye on them."

"Ah. A Chaperone. How quaint."

Yugi's eyes wandered around the room. "Where…am I, exactly?"

"In our royal chambers, of course! We hath taken the measures of taking you to the medical ward beforehand, but you hath not sustained much injuries aside from a small cut on your forehead—presumably, the pillows and helmet absorbed most of the damage and left only the force of such a mighty blow to rock through your body."

Yugi had blushed at that. "Don't you think it'd be a little…er…conspicuous for you to take me here into your room?"

"Why, whatever do you mean, Little Game?" Luna said with a hint of confusion in her voice and an innocent gleam in her eyes. Yugi decided to not tell her why—he'd rather not offend or scar her with the exact thought.

"It's nothing…um…well…I'm sorry for crashing through your castle like that."

"Ah, 'tis fine, Little Game. We hath informed Twilight Sparkle of your locations, and hopefully she and her friends shall be here quickly to pick you up. Would you care to take a tour with us around the castle until then?"

The little Pegasus stood up properly. "Sure…I've never really seen where you live before, anyways…"

Luna clapped her hooves. "Excellent! Please, follow us."

They had tried to avoid it, but the weather team couldn't control the large, looming snowclouds that began to form over Canterlot and its railways. The Train Twilight and her friends were on was going to be the last train to be let in, as a huge snowstorm was imminent.

Such weather like this hadn't been seen in ages—there were reports and stories about how sometimes there were some clouds and weather patterns that would not obey the hooves of the Pegasi. It looked to be that this was one of them. The best that the weather team could do was curve and carve the clouds in a way that the storm would not get out of hand—it would still blanket Canterlot in layers of snow, but it wouldn't get bad to the point that it would become disastrous for the ponies that lived there.

The large snowclouds soon began to obscure the whole sky, and with the strong blow of the wind, the Weather Team of Canterlot was forced to take cover in their homes…

Unaware that something—or someone—was looming above the clouds.

He was rather fortunate that the Snow Storm was hiding him; otherwise his own cover would've been blown. He didn't want to be greeted by the guards too early before reaching his target.

Chomping down on the bit of bark in his mouth, he landed on one of the slowclouds. It was cold, but not overbearingly so (fortunately) and felt quite pleasant on the hooves. Reaching into his saddlebag, he pulled out some bit of grey powder and threw it into the air.

The power illuminated immediately, showing a purple, misty trail leading to the castle in the center of the city below him.

"Aha. So 'dats where ya went then. 'kay then, high time I paid a visit to some royalty." He said to himself, spreading his black wings and flying towards the city.

Shining Armor immediately got to work to raising the barrier spell as the last ponies nearby fell into the city and the last train had pulled up into the station. As he told the Princesses, he had been working on the spell's durability, and he could manage to keep out any big pieces of debris kicked up by the storm….or any intruders trying to coming in during it.

It would last until the storm stopped, which was only a few hours. He could handle a few hours fine—it wouldn't give him much of a headache to worry about. It would be a problem if it was a few days—he hadn't practiced for that kind of length…and that kind of length, unfortunately, would drive his pain meters up a wall.

As soon as the last pony came in (a black Pegasus stallion, he noted), the whole city soon saw a large wall of magenta light go up around it in a spherical shape, the spell sealing it off from the worst of the storm. Snow would still get in, but any debris or intruders couldn't, and it would have to do just until the storm settles. After making sure his work was sturdy, Shining Armor immediately went back to the castle, other guardsmen following him.

"…and here, we have what we call the 'timepieces' of our Equestrian Armory. Our sister tells us that these bronze-made suits are from our 'Baroque' Periods in Canterlot history. That of course, prompts the saying, 'if it isn't "Baroque", do not fix it!' …Little Game, is something troubling thou?"

Yugi suddenly snapped out of his zoning out. "Oh. Sorry, Luna…I was just…"

He looked towards a large door, decorated with symbols of the sun, the moon and the stars, like he had seen around the castle. However, this one had a huge star engraving upon it—a star with six points and six circles covering them, with a seventh circle in the middle of the star and a small hole-slot in the center.

"Say, Luna…what's behind here?"

Luna blinked, before clearing her throat. "That would be the Chamber of The Higher Elements. A mere display case, we may say."

"The Higher Elements?"

"Ah. We believe that they are called nowadays as 'The Grandfather Elements'."

Yugi couldn't help but feel a pull to whatever lied beyond the door. "…can I see?"

Luna blinked, seeing the faint twinkle in Yugi's eyes. "Of course…but only this once." Luna said quietly, her horn glowing with magic. Sticking the horn into the slot, the magic from it filled the lines of the star; soon opening the door to reveal a place that somewhat resembled a foyer.

The windows within the room were stained, etched with intricate designs depicting the stars in the night sky, with the window in the center of the room having a big, gold star design etched into it.

The light of the windows all fell across six small crystalline mounds on encircling pedestals. Each Crystal gleamed with a dulled color, with a sphere of stone trapped within it.

"The Higher Elements have been around even before we were born. Usually, they are in a different place. We would normally have fake replicas in their place here, but sister is looking them over again. Especially given that she had found an element stone not within the categories of the Elements of Harmony, nor the higher elements."

Luna had pointed a hoof to a marble table where a stone sat. Or the remnants of the stone. The face of the entire stone was a gaping, jagged hole, and pieces lay scattered around it, as jagged as the edges of the opening.

Yugi had inspected it, looking at the pieces carefully. They looked as if while broken, they could still be fitted together. Like pieces to a puzzle…

The faint image of glittering gold flashed through his mind again.

"What exactly was this one?"

"We are not sure…but our sister says it may be a Lost Element."

"A Lost Element?"

Luna nodded. "For as long as we can remember, there have been 12 Elements of powerful magic that kept peace and harmony within Equestria—the first six, the Ancestors of Harmony, were the first elements to exist—they represent the bond of Unity, the elements made by the element of creation—the "birth mother" of magic, one may say. The current six—the Elements of Harmony we know now, represent the strength of Friendship, and are the Magical representations of its true power. But there was rumor of a Lost Element for many years; one that does not belong with the Elements of Harmony nor its ancestors…but, figuratively, both. But, we do not know what it represents…nor do we know how to put it together again."

Yugi's brow furrowed, looking at the pieces of stone. "…do you mind if I try?"

"Try what?"

"Putting it together?"

Luna arched an eyebrow at the small Pegasus before her. "If you'd wish to do so, we will not stop you. But if even we cannot put it together, I am sure that thou cannot, Little Game."

She hadn't noticed how Yugi instantly got to work, as if it was second nature, to figuring out where the pieces fit.

"Your Highness?" a male voice spoke from outside of the chamber. Luna turned to see a white unicorn stallion with a mane in differing shades of electric blue step inside, saluting the Princess.

"Ah, Captain Armor. What news do thou deliver?"

"I've already sent up the barrier around the city due to the impeding storm. It might not stop the snow, but it should keep out any intruders or free-flung debris due to the wind…" Shining Armor had blinked as Yugi, who had finally noticed the captain in the room. "Oh! The visitor's awake. Am I…interrupting something?"

"Oh no, Captain Armor. Doth thou wish to join us? You may be at ease around us, Captain."

"Well….sure, I guess." Shining Armor spoke, approaching Yugi. "How's your head, little guy?"

Yugi rubbed at it, feeling the small bandaid at the top of his forehead. "Fine, I guess….Captain Armor, was it?"

"Captain's a title, Kid. Name's Shining Armor. What's your name?"

"It's Yugi." Then Yugi immediately noted the look in Shining Armor's eyes. "I'd suggest if you don't want bad puns about your name, then please don't make that bad 'Sheep boy' pun." Yugi said with a subtle snark in his voice.

Shining Armor had put his hoof to his lips, making a "zipped" motion across his own lips. "Wasn't even thinking of it, but you got it."

Yugi had gone back to putting the pieces together into the stone as Shining Armor quietly watched for a moment.

"We shall be back, Little Game. We think that maybe the cook has something for us to share with the Captain and Thou." Luna spoke as she left the chamber and went to the kitchen.

"So…where are you from, Yug'?"

Yugi blinked. "Excuse me?"

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his mouth. "Sorry. Sometimes I say silly nicknames when I'm off-duty to other ponies."

"Oh…no, it's not that. That was fine…it's just…It sounded familiar to me." Yugi spoke, not taking his eyes off the stone. "I come from Ponyville. Well, I live there for now. To be honest, I don't really know where I came from." Yugi had made a motion to his head. "I sort of lost my memories, so I don't even remember if I have another home elsewhere."

Shining Armor had winced, with a whistle. "That must be pretty rough. Did you look for any help about it?"

"Well, there's a Unicorn in town trying to find any of my old friends and family and helping me with my memories a bit…but we're not making much progress." Yugi said, frowning a little. "I feel kind of bad, that I can't really repay her for helping me—I don't want to trouble Twilight with that kind of work—"

"Wait a sec. Twilight, as in _Twilight Sparkle_?"

Yugi blinked. "You know her?"

"_Well, __**DUH!**_Of course I know Twiley! She's my little sister!"

Yugi had sputtered a moment. "Uh….!"

"Let me guess, she didn't bring me up at any time?"

"No…but I guess that explains why you look so familiar. I saw a few pictures of you around in the library. Not really eye-catching ones, but just a few scattered about."

Shining Armor had blushed. "Well, to be honest, it does happen. Twiley sort of has a habit of not bringing up family stuff unless asked. Gets kind of awkward, really, when she brings me up to ponies that she didn't tell anything about me to them first."

For a while, silence reigned again, until the soft clinking of china was heard. "We brought some Cress Sandwiches with cherry tea, if that will please you both."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Shining Armor said as he levitated the plates and cups to them both. Luna had sat next to them, eating her own sandwich.

Yugi, in the meantime, continued to work at the stone. Luna had taken a second glance when she saw how quickly Yugi had been fitting the pieces together. He was almost done, by the looks of it.

"By the Light of the stars, Little Game! How in Land of Equestria art thou even able to figure that stone out?"

Yugi shrugged. "Not sure…but it seems like a simple puzzle to solve, really."

"What's like a puzzle?" a young female voice piped up.

"This stone that I'm putting together, Pink—GAAAAH!"

Yugi had leapt up into the air in a startled bit of flight at the appearance of the Pink Equine. "Pinkie, when in blazes did YOU get here?!"

"Oh, me and everypony else arrived just a half-hour ago! We just made it to the castle just now, and this Pegasus guard with a Manehatten-like Accent and a black mane let us in! He said he needed to head to the throne room for a second, he wanted to meet with the Princess! ….which I assume isn't here right now, so I guess that means he wants to meet you, Luna!"

Luna had blinked. "How queer…we do not remember seeing a Black Pegasus Guard being enlisted or even in service around here. Unless you mean somepony else."

Shining Armor's eyes narrowed a bit as he rose to his hooves. "Maybe we should go and check it out. I'm getting a bad feeling this guy isn't a guard."

"Very well. Element of Laughter, Little Game, stay behind Us, in the case that this 'guard' turns out to be an unwanted guest."

Yugi nodded, and eyed the stone. It was almost complete, but he didn't have anything to carry it or the remaining pieces in…he really couldn't leave it alone, for some odd reason.

Pinkie Pie had noticed this, and opening her own saddle bags, put the stone and the pieces within them, with a smile. Yugi had nodded a mute thank you to Pinkie, who nodded back in response and followed the Captain of The Guard and The Princess of the Night out of the chamber, with Yugi by her side.

When Luna and Shining Armor had entered with Pinkie Pie and Yugi, they had been greeted with the remaining four elements (minus Twilight, for some reason…) and the smell of smoked wood that had filled the entire throne room.

"Oh, Yugi, Darling! Are you alright?" Rarity said, looking the Pegasus over.

"Of course I'm fine, Miss Rarity…but…um….can I ask something?"

"But of course you can!"

"…where on earth did your sister and her friends find a cannon?"

Applejack blushed, tucking her hat a little more over her eyes. "Ah Reckon Applebloom found it first, but from whoevah, she hasn't said. Ah Apologize on th' behalf that my sistah sent ya flyin' in an attempt t' get ya a cutie mark."

Fluttershy finally spoke up, though her voice was as quiet and gentle as usual. "Um…guys…where is Twilight?"

"No need ta worry. She's fine—right up here, that is." A male's voice spoke up, drawing all eyes to the throne, to which upon it, sat a Pegasus stallion with a black coating and mane, with a bit of wood in his mouth. Wood that was smoking at its tip. His bright red eyes had caught Luna's attention, and suspended above him—surrounded in a strange, blackish-red aura—was Twilight, absolutely still with a look of neutrality upon her face, as if she had been frozen in place.

This caught everypony's attention quickly. Shining Armor's horn began to glow, as if preparing a spell to get her down.

"Ah-Ah-Ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Pegasus said, his accent disappearing in a snap. "Trying anything against the spell I'm holding her in is more likely to hurt her than help her."

"What did you do to her?!"

"Ah, nothing much…I put her into a bit of a trance, and then used a handy spell from a friend to keep her harmlessly floating in the air and in that state. No harm done, honest." The Pegasus said, flashing a grin.

Luna frowned. "Regardless of harm or not, you are taking her Hostage. We demand you to state your reasons for being here, trespasser! Tell us now, or we shall have to loosen your tongue by force!"

The Pegasus had removed the bit of wood from his mouth, exhaling out a cloud of smoke from his mouth and nostrils. "...Sure, I can tell ya exactly why I'm here." He spoke, once again in a Manehatten-like accent. "In fact, I can point it out for ya. I'll let go of th' little lady…"

He pointed a hoof at Yugi.

"…In exchange for one, littl' runt named Yugi Motou."

**+++++++(((To Be Continued…)))++++++++**


	7. SE: The Lost Element, Pt 2

_**(((Previously, on A Game Comes to Equestria…)))+++++++**_

"_Say, Luna…what's behind here?"_

_... "That would be the Chamber of The Higher Elements. A mere display case, we may say."_

"_The Higher Elements?" _

"_Ah. We believe that they are called nowadays as 'The Grandfather Elements'."….._

"_What exactly was this one?"_

"_We are not sure…but our sister says it may be a Lost Element."_

"_A Lost Element?"…._

…_."Pinkie, when in blazes did YOU get here?!"_

"_Oh, me and everypony else arrived just a half-hour ago! We just made it to the castle just now, and this Pegasus guard with a Manehatten-like Accent and a black mane let us in! He said he needed to head to the throne room for a second, he wanted to meet with the Princess! ….which I assume isn't here right now, so I guess that means he wants to meet you, Luna!"…._

…_."What did you do to her?!"_

"_Ah, nothing much…I put her into a bit of a trance, and then used a handy spell from a friend to keep her harmlessly floating in the air and in that state. No harm done, honest."_

"…_We demand you to state your reasons for being here, trespasser! Tell us now, or we shall have to loosen your tongue by force!"_

"_...Sure, I can tell ya exactly why I'm here._ _In fact, I can point it out for ya. I'll let go of th' little lady…In exchange for one, littl' runt named Yugi Motou."_

_Yugi blinked in absolute confusion._ "Me?" was Motou even his _Last Name? _When he thought it over…it did sound familiar to him.

"Why me?" the small Pegasus asked, genuinely curious. The black-coated Pegasus blinked at Yugi.

"Why you? Why, don't ya remember me?"

Yugi shook his head.

"Did ya even remember ya last name?"

Yugi shook his head again. "I wasn't even aware if I HAD a last name."

"…_by the great ashes of fire, they was right about ya—ya really DID lose ya memory. How you did, I have no idea…"_ the Pegasus chomped down on his smoking bit of wood, mulling over the thought. _"Well, either way, he's comin' with me."_

"What d'ya want with Yugi, anyhow?!" Applejack spoke up. "Ya don' look like the kin' of feller that wants somethin' good wit' him!"

The Pegasus exhaled smoke into the cowgirl's face, making her cough. "That, lady, is none of ya business. 's only between me, da boss and Little Runt Motou here!"

"Enough! You made it our business when you got Twilight! And if you think we're going to hand him over to you, you've got another thing coming!" Rainbow Dash shouted, raising her hooves in a motion to fight.

Yugi tugged on Rainbow's tail, pulling her back. "Listen…you must have something about me that you know…"

" 'dat I know. Trust me, Runty, I know lots 'bout ya. But the only way I can tell ya is if ya come with me."

Yugi scrunched up his snout. "…I honestly don't believe you. …but I am going to get Twilight back. And I am going to do it without hurting anypony."

" 's that so? How are yous gonna do dat?" the red-eyed Pegasus said, huffing smoke through his nostrils.

Yugi, out of some hidden instinct, suddenly blurted his answer. "By challenging you to a game."

Now the Pegasus' attention was caught. _"welp, at least he still has that quirk, at least."_ "A game? What kind, then, kid?"

Yugi had to think real hard. "I want to play a game of hide and seek. With Twilight."

Red-Eyes looked up at the suspended Unicorn. "Hide and Seek, that all?"

Yugi nodded. "You can decide your format. But here are the prizes—If you win, you can take me without a fight from my friends. But if I win, you have to let Twilight Go, and you tell me about myself. If you REALLY know who I was, then I'd like to know too!"

Red-Eyes mulled it over, rubbing his chin. "…Alright. But We ain't playing hide and seek in the castle. You're ALL too familiar with th' place. Let's try a place with a bit more…randomness and leveled scales."

With a flash of his eyes, a ring of Crimson red fire surrounded them all, the flames catching them all and pulling them downwards into darkness.

A faint glow of blue magic from Luna's horn had provided illumination. Yugi's eyes had adjusted to the place—seeing many reflections of himself and Luna…and Pinkie as well.

"Where are we?! And where's everypony else?"

Red-Eyes' reflection soon appeared. "Ah, don't worry about them, they're all safe—they're all listening to me right now, actually. Where you are is underneath yer Canterlot place—I believe some old, abandoned mines. Pretty wide around here…very easy t' get lost in 'dis place. Perfect for a game of hide and seek. Now, here are my rules. First off—"

With a clap of his hooves, suddenly Luna's horn disappeared, the glow disappearing as a red light provided the light in its absence.

"—this goes for all yer Unicorn friends. You can't use yer actual magic To find Twilight. That's cheatin'. However, I can allow th' use of these things….what ya call 'em? The Elements of Harmony?"

A faint light blue glow rushed to Pinkie, coming from a necklace with a blue gem in its center, shaped like a balloon. Luna was flabbergasted. "How on earth are you able to—"

"trust me, lady, it wasn't hard t' break into that vault. You should really get on that security measure before ya lose them to someone really twisted." Red-Eyes said casually, as if addressing a point in conversation.

"Anyways—you can use yer elements to help find Twilight. 'Cause of the spell, ya can't play 'Marco Polo' to figure out her location—she can't hear ya, nor see ya. But if you can figure out how to use your elements to find her, well, it should give you an advantage."

"oh! And one more thing! 'dere's a time limit on this game. Ya see this big ol' hourglass?"

Sure enough, in another reflection of the rock wall was a large hourglass, which had red sand and a black frame. "Ya got until the last of the sand falls out…which is about, what, one to two hours tops? Plenty of time t' find her. Don't waste yer time though—this place is pretty big…and I've added my own few surprises. If you run out of time and you haven't found Twilight at all….well, Yugi, you hold up your end of the bargain, as it counts as an automatic win fer me. Find her with all of yer friends before time runs out, and I'll hold up my end of it. That sound good t' ya?"

The Hourglass soon flipped, the sand beginning to trickle down into the empty end.

"Now…get movin'!" with that, Red-Eyes' reflection disappeared, leaving Luna, Pinkie and Yugi in dim lighting.

Luna rubbed at her forehead, where her horn was. Yugi stretched his wings. "We think that maybe this might not be as easy as he makes it, Little Game."

"Well…I guess fair is fair, in a way. But let's get moving. If we just stand around, we'll only waste time."

With that, Yugi, Pinkie and Luna began their trek through the mines. However, all three were unaware of the faint glow that Pinkie's saddlebags gave off….

"Now how in th' the hay-bale are we supposed to find Twilight in a place like this?!" Applejack exclaimed, her voice echoing in the darkness. The only light that she was provided was the gentle glow of the element of Honesty and Loyalty, seeing as she had gotten stuck with Rainbow Dash.

…well, Loyalty would provide light if Rainbow Dash had not run off _FIRST_. Applejack had mentally groaned to herself—Rainbow had little to no patience, even with two hours to search for Twilight. It wasn't long before she had seen a red glow from within a cave tunnel, finding Rainbow Dash pacing in frustration, in front of a pile of rocks that completely sealed the way.

"Ah told ya t' wait a second, Rainbow! There's bound t' be dead ends."

"Dead-ends NOTHING!" Rainbow huffed, "there's no dead end I can't get through!"

The Cowgirl equine arched an eyebrow. "really now? Then how come ya haven't tried kickin' the rocks outta th' way?"

Rainbow's look of frustration had worn away to a rather flabbergasted expression. Applejack smiled to herself—sometimes there were no excuses.

Rainbow, not one to back down when her pride was being challenged, took in a huff and looked determined. "Like I said! There's no dead end I can't get through! Even if it's…." the rainbow-maned Pegasus gulped. "….a big pile of rocks." She finished, weakly.

With that, Rainbow had taken flight and backed up as far as she could.

"_Oh. This I outta see." _Applejack said, leaning on the wall…and noticing how her tail went through the rocks slightly. Tipping up her hat in confusion, she stuck her hoof on the rocks…and saw that they _rippled_, as if sticking them into water. The other side, she noted, felt like wind gently rushing by.

However, she had momentarily forgotten about Rainbow, who was speeding right towards the "rock pile" with her hind-leg outstretched.

"SUGARCUBE, WAI—"

"_yaaaaaaaaaaaaa-_"

With a quick _shhhhhllliiiipppp_, Rainbow went right through the wall…and a resulting sound of quartz rock cracking and crashing was heard. Applejack face hoofed. _"Ah have a feelin' this is gonna be a looooong game of hide-ahnd-seek."_

Rarity, out of all of them, was the only odd pony alone. However, being surrounded by gorgeous crystals that sparkled in the glow of generosity, she didn't mind. Though she had freaked out a little from her horn disappearing, seeing where she was made her instantly giddy, and she went along her way.

…well, not without collecting a few "souvenirs" for herself—_"they would look LOVELY on my next design and this place is abandoned….a few crystals won't hurt…"_

Rarity had frowned a little, having to pick them up by mouth, but it appeared she didn't have much of a choice, given that her horn was missing. She was quite lucky she still had her saddlebags—

_Sniff…sniff…_

"_By Celestia! What is that horrid smell?"_

Rarity had covered her snout, ears flattening. It was a horrible smell, indeed—it smelt like someone had taken limburger cheese and rotten fish and thrown them together with very dirty laundry.

"_Just where is that awful smell coming from?!"_

Rarity soon found her answer from something that snorted warm, hot hair behind her. Freezing in place, she slowly turned around to come face to face with a dragon. A real old looking one—all wrinkly, thick tough skin and scales. Even its drab, tan color showed it was mighty old.

And it didn't exactly like how Rarity had just bumped into it. It snorted, frowning and showing its old-looking yet sharp teeth.

And what did Rarity do? Well, in most situations like this, it is proper to act like a lady does.

Keep calm and walk away. Real slowly. Unfortunately, it was following her, and soon walk away was turning into 'jog away'. Then Jog had turned to running when it opened its mouth to fire a stream of horrid-smelling fire.

She couldn't keep calm, but she had a very lovely Lady-like Scream.

Yugi's ears swiveled, hearing Rarity's screams echo throughout the large, abandoned mine.

"That was Rarity, wasn't it….?" Yugi said, frowning.

"Wow! Normally Rarity doesn't scream unless something really bad has happened! Like if there's some sort of fashion disaster, or if the boutiques on fire, or even if her mane turns green!"

Yugi had been long aware that Rarity would exaggerate certain negative things, but he had rolled his eyes a bit at Pinkie Pie. Deep down, he was worried, but he assumed Rarity was fine—perhaps a spider had just landed on her or a bat flew into her face.

"_Maybe we should make sure the Element of Generosity is alright, Little Game?"_

Yugi had frozen in place, hearing Luna's voice within his head. Luna, having good eyesight in the dark, had gone ahead of both him and Pinkie….but yet it sounded like she was right there next to him.

"…_am I…imagining things?"_ Yugi thought back.

"_Nay, Little Game. It appears that even though the intruder took away our horn…we still have access to our magic, if only a very small pool of it. Do you not remember the small conversation of Nightmare Night?"_

Yugi blinked, remembering when she had spoke within his mind when the Griffins had appeared. It had slipped his mind for a while._"…So…you're in my head?"_

"_Not exactly. Our mind is simply in tune with yours…we are sharing something called a 'Mind Link'. If only for now."_

Yugi had furrowed his brow in thought. For some reason, he felt more comfortable with this than he would expect to.

Pinkie had hopped up and down. "OOoh! Yugi, Yugi! I can hear the Princess's voice!"

"_Wait, you linked with Pinkie, too?"_

"_Why yes. We're all connected in a Mind Link. Go on, Little Game. Try and speak to Pinkie within your mind."_

Yugi had shuffled his hooves. "Okay…"

he wasn't sure how it would work, but he closed his eyes and began to think of a thought. _"Pinkie Pie….can you hear me?"_

"_Hi!"_

Yugi blinked. _"you can hear my thoughts now too?"  
_

"_Well, DUH! This is totally awesome, Luna! How come you never did this back on Nightmare Night?"_

"_Ah. It's just a mere spell, to be honest. We would only use it in the company of our sister, if only to talk in private during a meeting—and our only usage of it on Nightmare Night was between us and the Little Game. But I am surprised…Little Game…you are used to this?"_

"_I…..guess I am. I don't know why—I think this is the first—er, second-time I've done this sort of thing."_

"_It isn't."_

Yugi blinked. _"Wait…why do you say that, Luna?"_

"_we can sense just a faint touch of the same magic here. Only slightly, however. We see…that is why you are so used to it; somepony, some sort of unicorn with that kind of access to magic…must've used it before with you."_

"_woooaah! So Yugi is psychic?! Awesome! C'mon, read my mind!"_

"_eerr….Not quite, Miss Diane."_

"_Diane…?"_

"_Hey! That's my middle name!"_

"_You have a middle name?"  
_

"_Yeah! My full name is Pinkamena Diane Pie! Didn't I tell ya that?"_

"_Uh…no, I don't remember if you did."_

"_Both of you, if you would please!"_

"_Sorry…"_

"_As we were saying….Yugi might be used to this kind of magic…but he cannot read minds. However, It might be that the one pony that used to do this with him might've had a power similar to that. That, or Yugi might have some sort of magical capability. It is quite peculiar…"_

Yugi had stopped paying attention to Luna's explanation the minute he saw Twilight. Pinkie had seen her as well, and smiled. "Wow! That was easy-peasy, Yugi!"

Pinkie ran over to the purple equine…only for Twilight to suddenly fade away and Pinkie to drop down a sheer cliff with a scream.

"PINKIE!" acting quickly, Yugi had spread his wings and dove after her, grabbing her tail with his mouth before she hit the bottom. In an attempt to slow the descent, Yugi stamped his hooves against the wall of rock behind him, trying to slow down the fall as Pinkie still screamed.

Despite his efforts, Pinkie's weight had been too much, and he soon tumbled down into the darkness with her, though both had managed to land without being mortally hurt.

…Yugi, however, had twisted his left wing. He sucked in a breath, but only muttered a series of "ows" rather than scream in pain. The faint light blue glow that came from Pinkie's necklace was his only light. Pinkie had approached him quickly.

"Ohmygosh! Yugi, are you ok?!"

"Yeah….Peachy!" Yugi said between his teeth. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in pain, Pinkie would've noticed the dripping Sarcasm. But when he looked up, he saw something quite different with Pinkie's expression.

Her mane was flat—straight with no bounce. And she had looked extremely worried and frightened. "HoldonHoldon,LemmejustseeifIpackedsomewrappinggau ze!" she said quickly, pulling out a roll of bandages and gauze and wrapping his wing in decent (but sort of messy) way.

The small Pegasus blinked. Pinkie was freaking out—_Pinkie_, of all ponies…_Over him!_ He managed to get onto his hooves and looked at Pinkie, who was beginning to cry. "Hey, hey! It's ok…I'm not going to die from a broken wing! What's wrong?"

Pinkie had given him a look of disbelief. "What happened?! WHAT HAPPENED?! You got injured 'cause of me, that's what! I didn't mean it—"

"Take it easy, Pinkie! I arrived in Ponyville with broken wings, remember? If I didn't stop you from falling somehow, you could've…"

Yugi had a hard time getting it out of his mouth. "You could've…"

Why was he having such a hard time saying it? The image was right there, in his mind; and he really wished he couldn't have seen it.

Pinkie had hugged him. "That was scary….I'm sorry, Yugi…."

Yugi patted Pinkie's back. "It's ok…it almost fooled me too…."

The Small Pegasus had chastised himself mentally. He had to be careful—making mistakes like that could've gotten Pinkie hurt…or worse.

He hadn't noticed her Saddle bag containing the stone he put in earlier was still glowing with a faint light. the pain in his wing had died down, and he began to walk.

"_Little Game?"_

"_I'm fine, Luna….just had a bit of a fall, but we'll be fine."_

"_We understand….have you found Twilight Sparkle?"_

"_No. we thought we did, but it was an illusion….I think the best we can do is regroup with the others."_

Then, an idea popped into his head. _"Luna, how many connections can you make with this kind of spell?"_

"_Well, we can stretch its strength…but we can have at least ten minds speak at once. But the only way we can do that is if we had our Horn and access to full power."_

"_What if we used something else to tap into your power? Like the Element that Pinkie wears?"_

"…_We're afraid that we cannot do that, Little Game. The Elements only obey their holders, and we have forfeited the right a thousand years ago."_

Yugi frowned. That was when the light finally caught his eyes. Pinkie had noticed his gaze, and as her mane began to return to its curly, bouncy shape, she pulled out the stone and the remaining pieces, which hummed with a faint purple glow.

Wheels and gears began to turn in his head as the small Pegasus began putting the last pieces in. holding the final piece, he closed his eyes.

'_I don't know if you can hear me…I don't even know if it's possible….but whatever element you are…please, help us out. I'm not asking for much, but I'm asking for just the right power to get through this challenge….please, grant my wish.'_

_We had said, Little Foreigner. We have not forgotten your sacrifice. For the helping of others, we shall help you now._

Placing the last piece, the stone flashed and had taken a different form as the light died down. In place of the completed round stone sat a necklace similar to Pinkie's, but the gem in the center of the necklace was a round, oval shape, and completely black in color, which never seemed to end.

Pinkie Pie had blinked. "Ooooh! It looks JUST like an Element of Harmony! …but what is it?"

"I'm not sure…" Yugi said, picking it up with his hoof carefully. The necklace then took on a faint, light purple aura, and snapped itself around Yugi's neck, the gem then coming to light.

As its colors lit up, it was revealed that the gemstone was a dark violet Opal, one with layers that got lighter and lighter as they approached the center. In the center was a gold fleck, in the shape of a spark of four points, and it sat in the middle, the element all aglow with a soft light from within.

Yugi was coated in the same light purple light, and suddenly, all at once, voices filled the silence of the cave.

"_EEEEEEE-EEEEK! This is just positively dreadful!"_

"_Um…maybe I should tell M-Mr. Armor we might be going in circles…"_

"_Great. I think we're going in circles. We'll never find Twiley in time!"_

"_Now how in the Hay-bale did Rainbow get her hoof stuc' in th' rocks in THAT position?!"_

"_I am never going to live this down, am I? At least no one's taking pictures."_

"…_Hello?"_

The last one caught his attention. That thought was definitely Twilight's.

"_Twilight…can you hear me?"_

"_Yugi? Is that you?"_

"_Yeah…Are you alright?"_

"_I guess. Wait, how are you doing this? You're not a Unicor—"_

"_Twilight, listen! We're…playing a game of sorts. But I need you to listen to this idea I have. Can you do it?"_

"_Of course I can, but can you tell me, at least, where exactly am I?"_

"…_that's what I'm trying to figure out…."_

Suddenly, Yugi felt Pinkie nudging his shoulder. His concentration broke, the gem's glow turning to a dim shimmer. "What is it, Pinkie?"

She said nothing as she pointed up at the ceiling, visibly shaking. Yugi followed her hoof upward until he found the group of red eyes staring down at them, little white fangs gleaming in the light. Taking a few slow steps back as the creatures slithered down from the ceiling, both Ponies turned and soon began running when the creatures soon chased after them in hot pursuit.

Fluttershy had stood quite close to Shining Armor, rather frightened of her surroundings. He didn't mind all too much—he was used to this (usually by frightened children stuck in the gardens at night, and, at times, his Marefriend) enough.

However, both were wandering in circles. He had passed by that jagged rock five times now. He sighed a bit. There was no way anypony was going to find Twilight in time.

But yet, as he thought that….he felt something stir in the back of his head. It sounded like a faint bell echoing, as if something had been awakened. Suddenly, his ears swiveled, hearing approaching Hoofbeats.

Fluttershy had squeaked and hid behind Shining Armor just slightly, and soon witnessed that, from afar, the owners of the stomping hooves were Yugi and Pinkie…

Who were running very fast. Fluttershy caught the panicked expressions on their face as they ran past the two, both Pinkie and Yugi slightly screaming.

Shining Armor blinked in confusion: "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU TWO GOING?!"

"TALK LATER; RUN NOW!" came back the echoing tandem of the Earth Pony and the Pegasus' voices.

"Ooookaaa—"

'_Oh, Horseapples!'_

The Captain of the Guard and the Element of Kindness let out a yelp as snarling, hissing and utterly bizarre creatures began running towards them. Picking Fluttershy up, Shining Armor resorted to carrying the Pegasus on his back as he ran after the duo, the creatures hot on their heels.

This was going to be a LONG game of Hide and Seek.

**++++++(((To be Continued….)))++++++**


	8. SE: The Lost Element, Final Part

_**((Previously, on a Game Comes To Equestria…..))**_

"_What d'ya want with Yugi, anyhow?! Ya don' look like the kin' of feller that wants somethin' good wit' him!"_

"_That, lady, is none of ya business. 's only between me, da boss and Little Runt Motou here!"_

"_Enough! You made it our business when you got Twilight! And if you think we're going to hand him over to you, you've got another thing coming!"_

…"_Listen…you must have something about me that you know…"_

"'_dat I know. Trust me, Runty, I know lots 'bout ya. But the only way I can tell ya is if ya come with me."_

"…_I honestly don't believe you. …but I am going to get Twilight back. And I am going to do it without hurting anypony, By challenging you to a game."_

"_If you win, you can take me without a fight from my friends. But if I win, you have to let Twilight Go, and you tell me about myself. If you REALLY know who I was, then I'd like to know too!"_

…"_Where are we?! And where's everypony else?"_

"_Where you are is underneath yer Canterlot place—I believe some old, abandoned mines. Pretty wide around here…very easy t' get lost in 'dis place. Perfect for a game of hide and seek. Now, here are my rules. First off, this goes for all yer Unicorn friends. You can't use yer actual magic To find Twilight. That's cheatin'. However, I can allow th' use of these things….what ya call 'em? The Elements of Harmony?"_

"_you can use yer elements to help find Twilight. 'Cause of the spell, ya can't play 'Marco Polo' to figure out her location—she can't hear ya, nor see ya. But if you can figure out how to use your elements to find her, well, it should give you an advantage."_

"_oh! And one more thing! 'dere's a time limit on this game. Ya see this big ol' hourglass? Ya got until the last of the sand falls out…which is about, what, one to two hours tops? Plenty of time t' find her. Don't waste yer time though—this place is pretty big…and I've added my own few surprises. If you run out of time and you haven't found Twilight at all….well, Yugi, you hold up your end of the bargain, as it counts as an automatic win fer me."_

…"_you can hear my thoughts now too?"_

"_Well, DUH! This is totally awesome, Luna! How come you never did this back on Nightmare Night?"_

"_Ah. It's just a mere spell, to be honest. We would only use it in the company of our sister, if only to talk in private during a meeting—and our only usage of it on Nightmare Night was between us and the Little Game. But I am surprised…Little Game…you are used to this?"_

"_I…..guess I am. I don't know why—I think this is the first—er, second-time I've done this sort of thing."_

"_It isn't. we can sense just a faint touch of the same magic here. We see…that is why you are so used to it; somepony, some sort of unicorn with that kind of access to magic…must've used it before with you."_

…"_Luna, how many connections can you make with this kind of spell?"_

"_Well, we can stretch its strength…but we can have at least ten minds speak at once. But the only way we can do that is if we had our Horn and access to full power."_

"_What if we used something else to tap into your power? Like the Element that Pinkie wears?"_

"…_We're afraid that we cannot do that, Little Game. The Elements only obey their holders, and we have forfeited the right a thousand years ago."_

…_. 'I don't know if you can hear me…I don't even know if it's possible….but whatever element you are…please, help us out. I'm not asking for much, but I'm asking for just the right power to get through this challenge….please, grant my wish.'_

_We had said, Little Foreigner. We have not forgotten your sacrifice. For the helping of others, we shall help you now….._

**(((+++)))**

**(1,000 Years Ago, Equestrian Time…)**

"_Tiiiiaaaa, please stop!"_ the dark blue filly protested as the tweenaged, pink-maned alicorn finished brushing her sister's hair, all the while playfully teasing her.

"You heard what father said, Luna. You need to brush your teeth and your mane before bed~" Tia said playfully, the rosy pink ringlets and curls that made up her mane bouncing as she moved to nuzzle her little sister.

"but I dun wanna go to bed. I wanna play with 'Tin more."

Tia slightly frowned. "I know you do, Luna, but your friend has been working non-stop today. Besides, it's past our bedtime."

"Piddle a bedtime!" Luna protested as Tia gently picked her up with her magic. "I wanna play with 'Tin som' more! Maybe I'll get my cutie mark if we—" there was a pause for a yawn, "play more."

"I know, dear, but we all need sleep. You'll both get your cutie mark, I swear, but it's time for bed." Tia said with a gentle smile as Luna gave a cute, sleepy little glare.

"When 'm ruler, Imma gonna get rid of bedtimes…" the small pony mumbled before falling asleep. Tia rolled her eyes, a faint smile on her lips, and gave Luna a kiss on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, little sister." Tia murmured as she climbed into her own bed, and once she was tucked in comfortably, she went to sleep.

It felt like a few seconds had passed before Tia had been shaken back into an awake state. A Guard, face stricken with worry, had woken the young princess from her sleep.

"Your highness, we must leave, now!" the guard spoke, urgency in his voice.

"What—"

Tia was quickly pushed out of the bed, the guard grabbing the Alicorn's younger sister and ushering them out of the room.

Tia had looked to the windows, seeing the colors of red and orange (and strangely, a bright green) fill the hall as the only lighting. Servants and guards and others had rushed by them, though one colt had followed the princess.

He was around Luna's age, and wide, light red eyes flitted around in fear, his tail covering the left side of his flank.

"M…Miss Celestia, what's happening?" the small colt squeaked as they began their descent down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

Celestia herself didn't understand what was going on. "Guard, please tell us, what is happening? Where is our mother and father?"

The guard had paused, Luna stirring on his back. The minute her eyes laid upon the small colt with Celestia, she squeaked and flew off, tackling him in a light hug. " 'Tin!"

The small colt named Tin had hugged Luna back, before both had squeaked at how the castle rocked so violently from a loud blast. The green light soon grew brighter outside, the eerie emerald glow sending shivers down Celestia's spine.

Whatever magic was using this light, it wasn't one with any good intentions.

"Your highness….we're under attack. The King and Queen instructed me to get you to safety before the enemy reached the castle—to which we are running out of time. Not to be rude, but we MUST move, or we WILL perish." The Guard spoke, moving quickly. Celestia, after ushering the young children behind her, followed quickly.

"What is attacking the Kingdom, Guard?"

"….By the name of the stars, I have No clue. But it is powerful, and it is attacking all the citizens at once. The guards are doing their best to hold the forces back, but…"

The castle shook once more, Luna beginning to cry. Celestia had nodded in understanding, picking both foals up and putting them on her back as she and the guard ran towards a cabinet, to which was pushed out of the way to reveal a hidden passage.

As Celestia tried her best to calm her sister, their escape had led them to bear witness to the destruction of the forces invading the kingdom upon a crossing bridge.

The whole scene before them—the castle city, the village—had been engulfed in smoke and flames, and the whole town was alight by the ominous green glow, coming from pillars of green light that had appeared now and then. What had caught Celestia's attention were the creeping shadows and the monsters within them creeping towards the castle, fighting and defeating the guards that tried to stop them…

And then was the huge, monstrous yellow eye that had appeared in the sky.

Suddenly, Luna had screamed, a bolt of green magic flung at the lanky off-white alicorn. Tin had hopped off, heading to the guard in quite haste, but Luna was frozen in fear, still screaming.

With only a second to react, Celestia focused her telekinesis and flung Luna to the other side of the crossing bridge, and sent up a shield of magic to block the light.

The malicious magic collided with the soft yellow of the shield, but its force soon rippled through the alicorn princess's body, and then through the bridge, causing it to crack and collapse. The force of the spell had forced Celestia's wings closed, and she soon fell with the bridge.

"TIIIIAAAA!" Luna screeched as Celestia fell amongst the rubble, into what appeared to be total darkness.

**(((+++)))**

**(Modern Day, Equestrian Time, 30 minutes after endgame, Location: 250 miles outside of Canterlot)**

Celestia had woken up with a start, feeling the cold wind of winter hit her face. Disoriented, she looked around herself and saw she was in the air, within her royal carriage.

'_That's right. I fell asleep during the trip apparently…But that dream…it felt real.'_

No…that dream _was_ real. That had actually happened before. She remembered it—the scent of the flames, the force of the attack…

How could she have forgotten that? As far away in time as it was, it was a memory that she thought would be hot in her mind. Though…what had happened afterwards was still a blur. What were those strange lights…no, what was the magic that accompanied them?

A loud blast distracted the Sun Princess from her thoughts. A beam of red and black energy fired past her as her guards pulled the carriage out of the way of the large blast.

Flying past the carriage (followed by loud, familiar screams) was a small Pegasus colt carrying, of all ponies, _Her faithful student_, with The Princess of the Night following behind. She also noted the necklace he now wore around his neck and shook her head in a brief moment of disbelief.

'_The Element of Hope!? The Lost element chose HIM?!'_

Celestia's thoughts were once again interrupted by a roar, as a Dragon gave chase to the three airborne ponies, and it was no dragon she ever saw before.

There were a lot of things Celestia would let slide. Seeing her Student and her Sister being chased by a dragon, with the high threat that they were in imminent danger, was not one of those things. For the first time in a thousand years, the pale pink that made up Celestia's eye color turned a blazing red crimson and her normally pastel-colored, ever waving mane burned into the colors and the shape of hot, sun-like flames.

"**SECURE THE CITY," **Celestia commanded her guards as she lifted off of the carriage, **"AND LEAVE ME TO THIS INTRUDER!"**

They only had enough time to mutter a 'yes ma'm' before Celestia had taken off after the dragon, looking like a streak of fire while doing so.

**(((+++)))**

**(30 minutes before Endgame, Abandoned Mines)**

Yugi and Pinkie had no time to stop, though most of their friends had caught up with them.

Mainly, due to the creatures still chasing them, snapping at their hooves. The light of the elements together made the area around them alight with strange glows, and illuminated the strange creatures.

They were probably as big as bobcats, though their red eyes were beady. Their jaws were curved, all filled with razor-sharp teeth. There were strange stones embedded in their dark, shiny backs, glowing with an eerie green glow, But nopony did not want to find out whether they were emeralds or just crystal glass.

Applejack had been busying herself, supporting a disoriented Rainbow Dash when her ears flicked to the sound of loud shrieks and squeals. It wasn't long before the group had overtaken them, the swarm still in pursuit.

"Now jus' what in tarnation is goin' on?!"

"Monsters, running, no time, escape!" Pinkie gasped, smacking into the rubble of rocks. Applejack blinked in confusion. '_Now ah swore that pile of rocks is something you just walked through—'_

However, the shrill cry that pierced the air snapped Applejack and Rainbow Dash to attention. Yugi, seeing the danger imminent, suddenly made a motion and got between the horde and the group, and despite shaking, he stood his ground.

Everything around him, at that moment, went silent. He couldn't hear the exclaimed shouts of the others, nor the snarls and roars from the creatures. Just silence. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

He barely felt the sudden pull that came from the necklace, and barely noticed how it began to glow brightly. What forced his eyes open was the big blast of light that came afterward.

**(((+++)))**

**(Applejack's POV)**

I was tryin' to holler at the small feller to get out of the way, but I swear time slowed to a crawl the moment I saw that necklace 'round his neck (no idea where he got it from, honest) light up brighter than fireworks. Just inches aways from being clawed by those…..things (I don't even know how t' describe them), that necklace suddenly blasted a huge beam of this light purple….magic? It was almost like one of Twilight's fancy magic spells, but real bright—it illuminated the whole cavern after it blasted the creatures t' smithereens.

Those that didn't get blasted apart fled, frightened of the little feller. I was th' first to speak up, lugging Rainbow Dash a bit.

"You alright there, sugarcube?"

He looked at me, a bit dazed and wobbly. "Yeah…I feel a bit tired, though."

That's when he just folded in and fell.

Just what in tarnation was going on?

**(((+++)))**

**(20 minutes before endgame, Canterlot mines)**

Yugi had managed to come to (albeit with a headache) a bit later, waking up to the glow, warmth and smell of a fire. Looking around him, he saw everypony looking back at him, with worried and curious looks.

Rubbing his face with a forehoof, he blinked. "What's going on?"

Rarity helped Yugi up carefully. "Well, darling…we're just trying to process the event that had just happened between you and those horrifying, ghastly creatures."

Yugi blinked. "Oh? What happened?"

"You blasted them apart, that's what!" Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"With…what?"

"Little Game….you used Magic to do that."

Now the small Pegasus looked befuddled. "M…magic? But I thought Pegasi….errr…Shouldn't it have been—"

Yugi looked down at the necklace, still around his neck and still a glittering purple, almost opal-like in appearance. Slowly, it dawned on him from the moments before—that light must've been the beam. _And it came from the necklace._

Tapping it with a hoof, he looked to the others. "I'm…not sure what happened…but I think the magic came from the necklace…"

That's when the idea struck him. Using the elements to find Twilight…for a brief moment, he could hear her thoughts with the necklace…

What if everypony else did the same?

"I have an idea. If we concentrate, we can use the elements of harmony to locate Twilight. The elements always respond to one another, right? Like a signal?"

Luna had put a hoof to her chin. "Well, we suppose that would work, but you'd need to be in close connection."

"If we use that mind link spell and amplify it, it could help us locate her quicker."

"Considering that we don't have much time, I think we should try the idea out."

Looking to a reflection, Shining Armor was right. There was little sand left in the hour glass—probably only twenty minutes or less left. Yugi closed his eyes, and focused, the necklace's gem beginning to glow.

The sounds and sights of the cavern soon left Yugi's senses, blackness surrounding him. It felt strange, at first, but once settling again into it…it felt like he was used to this. Surrounding him, he sensed, were other lights—five in all, matching the glows of the elements that hung around the girls' necks.

The vast darkness had reminded him of his dreams, though this time, the path he walked on wasn't lined with the lights of stars, but rather with the lights of the elements. The path was a glowing, light purple, stretching along until it faded into the darkness. He swore he saw a slight pink shimmer sparkling in the darkness, almost hidden.

"Twilight?" he called out, walking down it.

It wasn't long before the purple Unicorn had stepped out from the darkness, looking around her in confusion before seeing the small Pegasus. She had been wearing a tiara with a pink gem, shaped like her cutie mark, resting at the top, its soft glow dying down.

"Where are we…?" Twilight said, looking around her in confusion and (if Yugi could guess right) curiosity.

"I'm…not sure. I guess I could say we're kind of in a mindscape."

"A mindscape? But how? I don't think it's possible for you to be here unless you're asleep. I mean, such spells to enter a mindscape would mean you could use magic, which is not scientifically possible in Pegasi—"

"Twilight, I don't really have much time for this." He said, putting a hoof on her snout. "I really don't know how I'm doing this either….and why it feels so familiar…but I'm trying to use it to find where you are physically. Do you remember what happened before everything went dark?"

Twilight furrowed her brow in thought, removing Yugi's hoof. "I remember seeing that strange pegasus. He was in the library, and he knocked this strange book out of my reach. I was just checking on something I read back on the library while waiting for you, when the book fell on me and he saw me."

"I don't remember much after that. I remember hearing your voice and seeing the throne room, for just a moment—"

Yugi suddenly perked. "Wait. The throne room?"

"Yes, the throne room."

Yugi then eyed the crown, an idea forming in his head. "Try shining your crown around."

"Huh?"

"Just trust me. Try shining it around you."

Twilight nodded, a little unsure, before focusing her magic on the crown on her head. The element of magic had shimmered, soon lighting up, and the darkness had given way.

Yugi looked up to the ceiling with a smile.

He knew exactly where she was.

**(((+++)))**

**(Five minutes before endgame, throne room)**

The black stallion had eyed the hourglass as the red sand within had thinned at the top. The game was almost over, and still the one he assumed to be Yugi and the band of ponies had yet to appear.

Maybe he wasn't the one he was looking for? It was possible that he had addressed a complete stranger…

But, somehow, he didn't feel like a stranger. He had also lost his memory, but even then—could it have been possible that he ended up in this world?

Then there was that book. With the same marking, no doubt. It seemed like it was possible, if this world had experienced such magic, but…

Red Eyes then felt a vibration underneath the throne seat, and before he could move, he was momentarily launched into the air as the throne flew up and across the room, Yugi and a near cascade of ponies tumbling out on the floor in a flash of purple light, with a Dazed and freed Twilight lying on the floor across from them.

"…I think I should teach you something about magic spells with necklaces…." Twilight said loopily, shaking her head from the disorientation she felt.

Red Eyes fell along with the throne with a thud, staring in disbelief at the group as they reassembled and checked up on Twilight and each other, Yugi pawing at the necklace he now wore.

Yugi had won the game. It had to be him…

It was a long shot, but Red eyes was sure it was him.

"Alright…I held up on my end—Now you have to hold up on your end. What do you know about me? Who was I before I came here?" the small Pegasus demanded of Red Eyes as he glowered.

"Trust me, you'll learn in due time, Kid….once you come back with me!"

Red Eyes leapt at Yugi, his mouth wide open, teeth (which appeared very pointed and sharp, even for a Pony) bared, and as the Mane Six tried to move to protect him, the gem from the necklace shimmered…

And Yugi instantly teleported out the way, albeit only by a foot.

Red Eyes landed on his hooves, eyes slit and growling, facing the dazed Pegasus. Twilight blinked in utter confusion. "Yugi…did you just teleport yourself?"

"Uhh….I'm not sure WHAT happened." He squeaked, still stunned. Twilight had quickly teleported herself to Yugi's side, blasting a spell at Red Eyes, who was sent careening into the wall.

"Yugi, come on, we need to get you out of here!" Twilight motioned, tugging at Yugi's hoof to get the stunned Pegasus colt to move.

However, Yugi had been staring at what emerged from where Red Eyes had crashed. It wasn't long before the other girls and the Princess with the captain had noticed, Fluttershy looking with _absolute horror._

Long, sharp black talons touched down on the floor as the shiny, black and curved body that it was attached to followed, red eyes focused on Yugi and Twilight.

A Black Dragon had emerged from the rubble, and he was _furious._ Fluttershy had screamed in horror, and ran, the girls forced to scatter as the Dragon whipped his tail at them, snarling and growling and howling in rage.

But Luna, the spell of the removal of her horn wearing off at last and the night's power flowing back in full to her, stood her ground.

"Now you see here, you charlatan! You leave our Friends alone, or you shall face the wrath that is the Princess of The Night!"

The Dragon turned and opened its jaws, a red-black glow forming in the back of its throat, readying to fire at Luna, until a Rainbow-cyan blue blur kicked its snout.

"Over here, ya stupid dragon! Come and get a piece of me!"

Luna, seeing Rainbow Dash's motives, blasted a blue blaze of magic at the dragon, Shining Armor following suit with a charge, distracting the black dragon.

"Twilight, grab everypony and run! We'll distract ugly here!" Rainbow Dash shouted, delivering another kick to the dragon's side.

Though worried, Twilight and Yugi did not hesitate, and rounding up the others, they all ran. Yugi twinged and winced as his injured wing kept fidgeting under the bandages as he ran, the necklace's gem still glowing.

"Yugi, are you alright?"

"It's just my wing, I—"

"INCOMING!"

"eeeeeEEEEEKK!"

A reddish-black ball of energy blasted by them, blasting the doors to the courtyard open. The dragon was gaining speed, charging at them with claws outstretched. The claw tried grasping at Yugi, only catching and tearing off the bandages, to which the colt's revealed wing began fluttering at reflex.

"We have to get the dragon away from the city! If we don't, he'll hurt others while he's chasing us!"

"and How are we supposed to do that? The only way to get him away is to go up into the air—"

"That's what I'm planning on, Twilight! Everyone, get to safety!"

Yugi had swept Twilight up onto his back, though she had slightly panicked. Pinkie had looked just as worried, but had ran with the others to get to safety as Yugi (painfully for him) stretched his wings and took off into the air.

The Dragon, seeing Yugi, outstretched its wings and flew after the two airborne Ponies, unaware of Luna following behind, shouting at him to "Cease and Desist" immediately.

Charging up another blast, the dragon aimed at Yugi and prepared to fire at him, full blast. A beam of energy was soon fired, Yugi dodging and the beam colliding with the barrier, piercing through and breaking it, and soon flying across the sky.

The small Pegasus colt was flying as high as he could muster, his wing soon freezing in pain before he and Twilight began to fall to the ground, towards the great black dragon. Before the Dragon could catch them in his jaws, a yellow aura had surrounded them, catching them….

And a blazing fireball smacked the dragon back, a Red Alicorn with a mane and tail like the blazing flames of the sun between the two and the Dragon himself.

"**HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MY STUDENT AND MY SISTER, YOU HORRID DRAGON?! I will NOT stand for such behavior happening to my Little Ponies!"**

The Dragon snarled, ready to attack the enraged Princess, before being blasted back with another fireball. The Small Colt watched as the Princess and the Dragon fought at one another, Luna flying over to them both in concern.

"Is that—"

"Yes, and it is very rare where our sister gets this upset…" Luna spoke quickly, grabbing Twilight with her own magic and putting Yugi on her back.

Celestia was faring well, until the Dragon knocked the princess into a cloud, putting out her flames and dazing her with the force that he struck her with.

Yugi had let out a shout. "Princess!"

He had lost awareness of the necklace as its gem shined with a bright light, before it, out of sheer subconsiousness, blasted a huge beam of light purple light towards the dragon, colliding with it before it could attack Celestia and absorbing it into its light.

With a final roar, the Dragon was taken into the light, coiling and shrinking in size until it was no bigger than a little toy figurine.

Which, appropriately, it was rightly turned into one. The small figurine, surrounded by a light purple aura, flew towards Yugi and landed in his hooves. The base of the now small, inanimate and no longer intimidating Dragon had read: _Red Eyes Black Dragon_, and had shown the dragon standing on the base, mouth open wide in a roar.

Yugi closed his eyes, soon falling asleep from the lack of energy, the world around him being drowned out, unaware that the light purple glow had still held onto the small figurine….

**(((+++)))**

_**A/N: Finally! You won't believe how stuck I had gotten on this chapter…the next chapter is a bit shorter than this one, but it does open up for the rest of the Arc (Known as the 'Starter Arc' at the moment) in this one. **_

_**Also! When I begin posting it, you can check out 'The Game's Collection', which is a collection of one-shots, theories, dribbles and bios that detail events and characters in this story. Might help to expand more on certain details, and might show what Yugi or others were up to during certain episodes (as only certain episodes here become the main focus for the Arcs in this story) as well as explain other things as well.**_

_**Finally, if anybody has a good memory of the monsters used in Yugi's world, I wouldn't mind a list for reference (My memory can be pretty terrible with some things) so I know who I might use next. Also, it doesn't hurt if you guys want to suggest a game type for Yugi to try, just PM me if you've got an idea to Suggest. Just remember! Duel Monsters doesn't exist in Equestria, so I can't have him dueling.**_

_**I might be a bit slow with Updates after Thursday, as I'll be going on a road trip to New York for summer vacation. **_

_**Thanks for taking your time reading!**_

_**-Rainstone**_


	9. Magic Lessons And The Caller

"_Yugi…?" A familiar, _deep voice spoke as Yugi blinked into consciousness. However, Yugi was not awake. Once again, he was in a dream. He found himself on the floor of a room filled with toys and games of all variations, with one other pony in the room with him; the Unicorn from his dreams.

"Hmmm?"

The Unicorn sighed with relief. "Thank Goodness—you're awake. Well, at least conscious here." The tall stallion said, holding out his hoof to help Yugi up. Yugi blinked around at first, before looking at the Unicorn, a smile coming to his lips.

"It's….It's you."

The Unicorn nodded, trying his best to smile.

That's when Yugi frowned. "….What was your name again?"

The Unicorn had frowned as well. "I don't exactly have a name. You called me something else, but I believe with the loss of your memories…"

"…I can't remember what I called you, huh?" Yugi sighed. "So…Is this…?"

"Yes. You're still sound asleep, so you're in a dream. As such, I'm not actually physically here, though I wish I was." The older stallion said, crossing his legs and lying down next to Yugi.

Yugi was able to see the torn stubs on the Unicorn's back, now confirming that they once were wings. He winced; whatever happened to them, it looked painful.

"So…are you a figment of my imagination?"

The Unicorn tapped his chin with a dark colored forehoof. "Somewhat. I am a Shadow. I am merely a figment, but at the same time, I'm not. I'm sort of what's left behind by the real me—so I am the pony you know and your imagination all at once—a Shadow, a mere trace."

Yugi blinked. "The Real You can do that?"

"Somewhat…" the Unicorn scratched his head. "But Because I'm not the Real Pony I appear as, and because of your memory loss, I am….somewhat disconnected from any knowledge of your past….or the condition of the real me. Granted, I know little bits and things, but only so much. I am just a Shadow after all."

Yugi sighed, but then looked thoughtful. "I should call you something—I mean, it wouldn't be fair if you didn't have a name. Don't you have any name at all?"

The Shadow shook his head. "I'm afraid that's one thing I know definitely—I have no name. But, all the same, I guess I could give you one to call me by…why not call me 'Ancient Dunes'?"

"Ancient Dunes? Sort of a funny name…"

"It'll make more sense when you remember more, trust me."

Yugi chuckled, soon getting a chuckle out of the older stallion himself. "So…I guess you can only appear in my dreams, huh?"

"That would be correct. When you're not troubled by other dreams, I am here. While I am a Shadow…I can figure out knowledge of things around in Equestria. I don't exactly know the secrets of the universe…but I can tell you things that could shed light on situations and subjects you've seen."

"So, you're sort of like Twilight? You know a lot about certain things?"

Ancient Dunes nodded. "I can _Gather_ knowledge in order to know about certain things. But, if I am to get anything about your life and your memories prior to meeting Twilight and her friends, you'd have to know something about it."

Yugi nodded, looking deep in thought. "Ok…what is this room, if you don't mind telling me?"

Ancient Dunes furrowed his brow in thought. "This is a Soul Room. It somewhat reflects your soul, and it's where you go in your sleep or in other situations. Exiting this room, however, you can head to anywhere in your dreamscape. It's sort of like a starting point."

"Does it change?"

"As you grow, it does, but some things do remain constant depending on conditions."

Yugi stood up, looking at all the toys and games strewn about. "It's messy."

"Well, you could imagine a Toybox to put them all away, but they'll simply be out again if you leave and come back. Each toy would hold a memory from your mind. However, the keyword is "would"—the toys here don't have any memories due to your loss of them…but, there are some that still have them."

Ancient Dunes had pointed with his snout at where little Pony dolls sat, sitting around or within a dollhouse replica of Canterlot Castle. Yugi trotted over and picked up one that looked _Exactly_ like Pinkie Pie, down to the last curl of her hair.

Suddenly, the doll glowed and wisps of smoke surrounded Yugi, something being projected from the fog.

He soon found himself in Pinkie's room, albeit it wavered and appeared as cloudy as the smoke. He blinked as he looked around—it had appeared as it did when he first arrived. Pinkie had woken up the occupant in the bed—which turned out to be himself—and was happily greeting him (though startling him out of the bed).

Ancient Dunes stood by Yugi, watching the memory unfold. "More Toys will appear as you make new memories. Of course, memories of the ponies you meet and know tend to form in a likeness of them."

Yugi put the toy down, the memory disappearing in a blur of colorful smoke as Yugi eyed all the dolls. They all looked like the Ponies he had met so far, from Pinkie to Shining Armor. He somewhat smiled at how happy they all looked. Some part of him ached—but he couldn't understand why.

"Something in you wants to be a part of their world, doesn't it, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded, though he blushed. "Well, I mean…I don't know if I had any friends before I met them…but they were sort of the first to become that for me. It's just…with the loss of my memories, I'm afraid that when I get them back, that friendship might change."

Ancient Dunes put a reassuring hoof on Yugi's back. "Everything changes, Yugi. It's a part of life. But the Friends you make….the bonds you form….that will never change. I know you're just getting started, but you'll always have your friends by your side, no matter what happens. Even if you don't ever get your memories back…you'll make and share new ones with your friends."

Yugi couldn't help but smile up at Ancient Dunes, the Unicorn smirking back, before the whole room around him had wavered.

"Huh?"

"It's Time for you to wake up, Yugi."

"But…"

"_It'll be alrigh—'m no—oing anywhe-…."_

The Soul Room had soon disappeared, Ancient Dunes going with it as Yugi began to wake up.

**(((+++)))**

Yugi was laid out on a medical table within the medical ward of the castle, still unconscious as the Mane Six, the Princesses and a Doctor had circled around him.

Aside from his wing, which had been re-bandaged, he was fine.

Their thoughts were more concerned about the Element clasped firmly around his neck.

"What exactly did you call it, Princess?"

"It's the Element of Hope—the Lost Element. It hasn't been used in centuries….I'm just surprised it chose your friend…it does make a point that there is something about him that is out of the ordinary."

"An' How is Mr. Motou, 'f ya don't mind me askin', Princess, Out-of-the-Ordinary?"

"Well, I have done research and a little bit of monitoring, and it sort of appears that Yugi has a lot of Magic in his body for a Pegasus…but how and why escapes me, Applejack. I think those instances when the Element blasted magic was him releasing some of the energy he had within him—since he isn't a Unicorn, he used the magic through some sort of focus, which the focus became the element around his neck now. Aside from the levels of Magical energy being unusual for a Pegasus, he has the same levels and degrees of magic of a regular Unicorn…minus the horn, of course." Twilight summarized for Applejack.

"But, the question is, what exactly does the Element of Hope do?"

"That, Twilight, even I don't know of. It's a very peculiar element. From what I remember reading in the archives, the Element of Hope's abilities always change depending on its user. I'd have to dig deeper myself to figure out its complete mystery, since it hasn't even been used in _Centuries._"

Pinkie Pie blinked. "Oooh, so it's older than you and Princess Luna?"

Celestia thought. "Well…perhaps it is. To be honest, it is familiar; it might've been around before My Sister and I took over the throne….but I definitely don't remember wielding it or using it."

"Maybe Starswirl the Bearded used it?"

"Perhaps, but it does not seem likely, Twilight Sparkle." Luna said with a frown.

Twilight focused her magic on the necklace and tried taking it off. "Maybe if I just take this to the library to investigat—"

The Necklace did not budge. Twilight blinked and tugged at it. Still, it didn't move or remove itself from Yugi. "I'm guessing this is why you called us over here?"

The Doctor straightened her glasses. "That's right, Miss Sparkle. We tried removing the necklace off his neck, but it wouldn't budge! We've tried oil, magnets and even a buzzsaw—very lucky the little fella's a deep sleeper—but it just wouldn't come off. It's like it doesn't want to leave his neck."

"Even More Stranger…The Little Game must be something important to it to make an Element like this stick to his neck." Luna said, putting a hoof to her chin in thought.

"Just stand back, I'll get it off him with a littl' elbow grease." Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her hooves together and gently biting the necklace, trying to pull it off.

Unfortunately, it did not budge, even though Rainbow kept on trying.

"c'mon, ya stupid….thing! mmrrrrfff!" Rainbow Dash grunted and groaned, tugging with all her might. The Element of Hope did not yield to her demands.

Yugi had stirred awake, blinking at Rainbow Dash biting at his neck. It only took a few seconds to sink in before he let out a yelp and bucked Rainbow in the gut on accident, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"I'm sorry! Are you ok, Rainbow Dash?"

"Not really…" Rainbow Dash squeaked. "...Nice Kick."

**(((+++)))**

"….So you're telling me I have magic in my body that I can use like a Unicorn can?"

"Yes—however, you'd need a focus, like the element around your neck. Plus…you'd need to know how to channel it before you can use it." Twilight said as she walked with Yugi down the hall.

Yugi had looked thoughtful. "…And…you say you want to teach me how to use it?"

Twilight nodded. "I figured you might need somepony to teach you how to use it through focus study, and since Princess Celestia is still pretty busy, I thought maybe I could teach you about it as a temporary tutor instead!"

"I don't know, Twilight…"

"Oh, come on, what makes you think I won't be able to handle it?"

"….Do you remember that one Tuesday, when I was trying to build my house?"

Twilight immediately frowned. "I thought we agreed never to speak of it again."

"I don't think _everypony_ would forget about it that easily. Especially considering how you were able to knock my house down again with an incoming crowd of _pegasi_."

Twilight had opened her mouth to protest, but after a quick thought, she closed it. "….Good Point. But, Yugi…I promise, it'll be okay if you learn from my teachings! It'll be like studying together…and I wouldn't really put you in danger because you're my friend! Plus, Pinkie Pie would be upset."

Pinkie Pie's head popped out of a large flowerpot, the plant and dirt on her head. "Of course I'd be upset!"

Both Yugi and Twilight jumped. Pinkie had only grinned. "Can I study under you too, Twilight? I wanna try doin' some magic too!"

"Pinkie Pie, I'm not even sure if you have the same potential—"

"Pleeeaaassseeeee?" The Pink Mare begged, putting on a Puppy Dog look. Yugi had covered his mouth, hiding a small smile and giving Twilight a look.

Twilight sighed. "If I can convince Princess Celestia to let me borrow the Element of Laughter for practice, then it'll be alright!"

"Yeeeesss! Oh, and don't worry! I'll just make my own special super-duper pendant to use and wecanfigureouttherestfromthere!Maybeyoucanenchanti tandwecan…"

Yugi had giggled as Pinkie skipped away merrily with her chattering, Twilight cracking a smile herself.

Seemed like everything was going to be okay.

**(((+++)))**

"_But you have to believe me! It really was him!"_

"_Rebecca, maybe you should just relax, you were probably seeing things."_

Rebecca had huffed—She had _Seen_ Yugi on the Show—and it was _Him_, down to his own voice…except now he was a small Pegasus that knew nothing about himself. There was no way that could've been coincidence, right?

Maybe it was still grief, however. Considering the…._Incident_, she could've imagined things. But You don't imagine something _everyone else did,_ considering how now people were talking about it in threads and blogs and posts.

Rebecca began to browse to cool down; figuring maybe just looking at Pictures of Fluttershy would help her think things out.

Though she didn't really want to admit it—She, like all others, Loved the show, Fluttershy being her most favorite (with Rarity being a close second) out of all the Mane Six. Fluttershy, however, was always called up to help Rebecca calm down after a lot of stress from studying.

It couldn't be helped—she was SO cute!

It wasn't long before there was a phone call on the video phone. She had blinked, and went to pick it up, curious at the unknown ID of the caller.

'_Could be a Telemarketer…_'

She picked up the phone and answered the call, at first static appearing.

"Hello?"

"Ex—use me….is th-s –ebc-a H-wkins?" a broken voice came from the other end.

"Who is this?"

"-old –n, l-t – fix this…."

The Static wavered and flickered before an image appeared. Rebecca dropped the phone in shock, seeing the caller's face.

"Oooh, Dear. Are you alright?" the caller spoke, her voice gentle and reserved, as if talking in a formal meeting.

Rebecca nodded. "…'m…o-okay."

"Hey! Did you get it up yet?!"

"Ugh, yes, I have! I'm talking to a young girl here, -in-sh!"

"Hey! I'll have you know—"

"You're in College, Rebecca, they know."

Now Rebecca did a double take. "Y…Y…You!"

The formal voice spoke up. "Now, if I'm right, you're Rebecca Hawkins. Listen, we need your help—"

"Who exactly are YOU?"

"Who…Me?" the Caller had blushed. "Sorry, I forgot my manners. My name is…"


	10. Renewing A Bruised Apple, Pt 1

"'_Ugiii!"_ Pound Cake went as he jumped on the Pegasus Colt. Yugi couldn't help but laugh as he was 'attacked' by the Cake Twins, all bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Yugi's small, short tail had grown a little bit over the winter, so it was no longer scraggly, but it still was short and fluffy, not to mention he didn't look as skinny as he had when he arrived—helping Rainbow Dash control the weather and doing odd jobs in Ponyville helped to build his muscles, as the Studies with Twilight helped improve his own control on magic.

Though, in most cases, he still used his wings to pick up some things. Mrs. Cake had come out of the kitchen with a box of blueberry muffins (a good Baker's Dozen), smiling at Yugi as she set the box down on the counter.

"The Twins really love it when you visit, Yugi. Are you sure you don't want to babysit for them sometime?"

Yugi nodded. "I'm still a bit busy with my studies, so maybe when I'm free I'll give it a shot." Yugi picked up the box of muffins. "The Usual customer?"

Mrs. Cake nodded. "She's at the Town Hall, she's helping to decorate it for Miss Applejack's Send-off."

Yugi however, substituted _Decorate_ with _Destroy _within his mind, having seen the damage been done (though completely on accident) by the customer. "I'll get right on it, Mrs. Cake." He said as he carefully picked up the twins and put them down, putting the box of muffins in his saddlebag and left Sugarcube Corner, heading for the Town Hall.

"Good Afternoon, Yugi!" Yugi had sai—

"Huh?" Yugi said, turning around until his violet eyes met a pair of light blue ones.

"Oh! Afternoon Bon-Bon! …You're uncannily good at impersonating my voice..."

The Earth Pony had giggled, trotting alongside the young stallion. "I told you I could get it down! So, how are you?"

"Ah, just fine—I'm delivering some Muffins to Derpy."

"How wonderful! So, are you staying for the send-off too?"

"Yeah, wish I could go…" Yugi said, somewhat trailing off. "Applejack might need a lot of support."

"Oooh, Yugi, you don't have to worry! Applejack is the champion of the Ponyville Roundup! She'll do fine, if not better!"

The small stallion had more than enough reason to doubt that, but his concern was more so at the lightning bolt that whizzed past them.

"How long has Derpy been bouncing on that Thundercloud?" Bon-Bon had asked, watching Ditzy-Doo—her Nickname being 'Derpy'-bounce up and down.

"Since this morning. I tried telling her she needed to move it, but…"

Another lightning bolt whizzed past them, hitting the ground behind them both.

"Well, sometimes accidents happen."

**(((+++)))**

"Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!"

Yugi had watched the excited crowd, with Bon-Bon (and her housemate, Lyra) flanking both his sides in the crowd. He almost didn't notice Pinkie sneaking up behind him, had it not been that he was anticipating for her to try and startle him.

"Hello, Pinkie."

"Awww! You're getting too good at this!" Pinkie had said with a giggle. Her Pink curls bounced, a little more different than before. Yugi had blinked. "Did you get a Manecut, Pinkie?"

"Ooh? Ah, no! It's kinda funny, but my mane kinda ended up like this!" Pinkie had said, fluffing a bit of the pink mane. It was now a bit wavier, some of it forming into a bang that somewhat covered a side of her face, though she could still see and both eyes were both visible. It had reminded him of the Flat and straight look her mane had taken that time ago in the mines, but it was curly like her regular mane, and still perky.

"Oh…well, I think it looks nice." Yugi said with a smile. Pinkie had blushed and beamed.

"Thanks Yugi!"

"Everypony, could I get your attention? Attention, Please!"

The chanting had soon silenced, listening to the Mayor.

"Yes, we are all here to send Applejack to compete in this Year's Rodeo Competition in Canterlot!"

The cheering continued, Yugi stomping his hooves along with the others.

"And…I want to thank Applejack in Advance, for generously offering her Prize Money to fix Town Hall."

"Yaay, Applejack, wooo!"

Yugi shook his head at the sorry state of the Town Hall. He couldn't blame Derpy, but it was going to be hard pressed to find good carpenters without any money to pay for services.

"Speech, Speech!"

"Ah, Shucks, Ah'm not one for Speeches…"

"Alright then, no speech!" Pinkie chirped before speeding away.

"But…"

Pinkie had returned just as quickly, bumping into Yugi.

"This here is th' nicest send-off anypony could ask for. Y'all have been cheering me on at every rodeo since ah was a _little _little pony. So,'t seems only fittin' to use my winnings to fix up Town Hall. Ah Promise t' make Ponyville Proud!"

While the others had stomped and cheered, Yugi only clapped a little bit. He couldn't really shake the feeling that something quite contrary was going to happen.

**(((+++)))**

"Applejack….are you sure you don't want me to come along?" the small Pegasus had asked as he stood on the platform of the Train Station.

"Nah, Sugarcube. ah wouldn' mind if ya did, but ah think you're much needed here. 'sides, ah know you'd all be rootin' for me even if y'all aren't there."

Yugi sighed, and nodded. "Alright. If anything goes wrong-"

"Ah know, Ah know, ah'll let that Shinin' Arma fella send you a message and write back t' ya immediately." Applejack said, tussling Yugi's mane with a forehoof. "Jus' don't get yerself inta trouble, ya hear?"

Yugi had laughed. "Who, me? I'll be fine, honest—I'd be more concerned about Pinkie Pie more than anything else."

"Seein' as how she tends t' drag ya inta things, that's why I asked." Applejack winked. It wasn't long before last call, and after a cheerful goodbye and good luck from friends and family, Applejack was aboard the train and on her way to Canterlot.

The Small Colt found his way into the sky and off to his home—a Cloudhouse, like Rainbow Dash's home, but it was more different than hers. It had resembled a mix of a small house and a shop, with two bedrooms to rest in and a living room to be in. his room had a "skylight" in the roof, letting the sunlight in.

Yugi had checked his mailslot—a gift from Twilight, who had enchanted it to take in mail delivered magically, as well as enchanted to stay on the cloud—within the somewhat "shop"-like front of the small house.

Aside from the mail in the Mailbox just below his house, which had some usual junk letters anyways, he had seen some letters and scrolls.

The First, as he recognized from the crescent seal on the scroll, was from Luna.

"_Little Game,_

_A warm greeting to you! I apologize that I have not been able to see you as of late, As with helping my sister investigate a strange occurrence concerning, of all things, Some form of Copper, as well as my royal duties of the night, I have been…how do you say it? 'Pressed for Time'—very Busy. How are you and Miss Pinkamena? I assume She is as bubbly as ever._

_How are your lessons with Twilight Sparkle? Do you have a bit of a grip on the magic you have? It does make me wonder about your heritage—perhaps you had a mother or father that was a Unicorn, but I digress._

_I have been fine, quite wonderful, in fact. I have been visiting the City of Canterlot at night when I have free time—I must say, the 'nightlife' in this current day and age is wonderful—I do appreciate it so. _

_I also hear that you are making a few more friends as well? I hope you can introduce me to them sometime—but if you do not wish to do so, that is fine as well._

_I do hope that you can pay a visit to the cottage sometime, though. I found something for you I think you would like from one of the shops in Canterlot._

_Wishing you Well,_

_Princess Luna_

_P.S.: Do I sound 'Hip' enough? Sister has been helping me with my speech patterns and writing to be more 'in the now'."_

Yugi smiled and put the letter back, grabbing the next one. This one had a different seal, resembling more of a shield. _'Shining Armor wrote back...' _He thought as he concentrated, opening the letter this time with some of the lessons he learned from Twilight.

The letter had taken on a light purple aura as it floated in the air and opened. Once satisfied, he took the letter into his hooves to read.

"_Hey, Yugi!_

_Sorry it took me so long—I've been busy with security and whatnot. Get this—there was this strange blast that went off in the Badlands. I could hear it from all the way in Canterlot! Princess Celestia asked me to keep defenses weary and alert if it was another monster like that dragon from last winter ago._

_Also! I tried that tip you wanted me to try with my Marefriend for our anniversary…_

_She loved it! She thought it was cute and very clever! I thought it was pretty cool too, using a Portrait Jigsaw puzzle to tell her a message. You really have a knack for these kind of things—you sure something involving a game isn't your talent?_

_Anyways…I'm planning for that Big Question….but I'm not sure where would be the perfect setting. With all this work and running around, I hadn't had much time to figure out when and where would be the perfect time. I mean, I already have the blessing of the Princess, but still, it's still quite hard for me to do anything. But I gotta make a move soon—I don't wanna lose her to somepony else._

_Maybe I should try that Illunella Pegas place she likes so much. She says it brings her fond memories, so maybe a vacation there wouldn't be a bad place to pop it._

…_Ah! I must've gotten carried away. Sorry about that. We have the stadium for the rodeo all set up—can't wait to see the competition. This newcomer entered in—found him looking at the sign. Seemed a bit lost about it, but I guess he's a bit of a foreigner. _

_Catch you later, Yug'!_

_-S.A."_

'_Foreigner….?'_ Yugi thought to himself as he went into his room and settled on the bed. Preening his wings and stretching, Yugi had thought about Applejack and the rodeo. Hopefully she'd be ok…but maybe he was getting too concerned.

Yawning and curling up, he fell asleep, figuring a Nap was well needed to get the troubles off his mind.

After all, Applejack said she would be fine. Nothing could go wrong, could it?


	11. Renewing A Bruised Apple, Pt 2

_Sometimes Yugi Wished _he didn't have such a good sense of how things would turn out.

"Are you absolutely sure that's what the telegram said?" Yugi said, following the purple Unicorn around the library as she began packing her saddlebags, the rest of her friends looking just as concerned.

"Here, why don't you read it for yourself, Sheep Boy?" Rainbow Dash Said, handing the telegram to Yugi.

"'Family and friends: Not coming back to Ponyville. Don't worry, will send money soon.' …Why would she do this? I thought she loved her friends and family—"

"That's what we're asking!" Pinkie Pie had spoken up.

"Didn't you say Shining Armor would let you know if Applejack or the whole rodeo was in any danger or trouble?"

Yugi groaned, lying back and nodding. "But I haven't received any message from him the whole week! The last thing I ever received about it was the stadium being set up and about this Foreigner….entering the competition…"

The small Pegasus facehoofed. "Great! That Foreigner could've been like that Dragon back in the winter…"

Fluttershy trembled. "D….do you think Applejack m-m-might've been t-t-taken?"

"There's only one way to find out—we need to head to Canterlot and see what's going on. It's the best place to start." Twilight said, adjusting her Saddle Bags.

With that, the six of them left the library, though Yugi had paused, noticing that his tail was shaking—fluffing up until it looked like a rabbit's cottonball of a tail. Shaking it off, he left to catch up with the girls. . .

Accidentally bumping into another Pony in the process. "Ack! Sorry, ma'm!"

"Sorry, the fault is mine. I was just looking for….somepony…" a calm voice spoke, the mare looking Yugi up and down.

"Um..?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. You look like somepony I met before." She said, folding her wings. "Do you know where I can find a map? I am trying to reach Cloudsdale for….something important."

"Um, I'm a bit busy, but you can try Town Hall for maps, Miss. . .?" Yugi couldn't help but look up at the tall, lanky Pegasus, especially when looking at her amber-yellow eyes, a serious light held in their gaze.

She cleared her throat. "Guiding Wings. Where exactly is Town Hall?"

Yugi had pointed in the general direction. "Just go down there and make a right at the third turn, you can't miss it—it has a pink fountain."

"Thank you, young Gentlecolt…" The Mare known as Guiding Wings said, looking Yugi up and down with a thoughtful glance. Yugi had nodded and sped around the taller Pegasus, catching up with the five girls.

He didn't notice the scabbard sheathing the sword strapped onto her back, nor any of the other details—He was much too worried about the condition of Applejack to notice the Mare completely.

However, She had noticed _him_. She had watched him leave before turning her head and walking down the path he had pointed to.

**(((+++)))**

"I'm Sorry; I haven't seen your friend, Miss."

"Get lost, will ya? Ah'm tryin' to take a nap here!"

"Sorry, wish I could help, but I haven't seen her since the Rodeo."

"O-Oh…O…okay, thank you anyways…." Fluttershy said as she looked around, soon bumping into a tall stallion with a squeak, the photo of Applejack falling out of her mouth. "O-Oh! I'm so Sorry, Sir…."

"Oh, no; the Fault is all mine, ma'am." Was the reply, a Mud Brown hoof being extended to help the small Pegasus up, picking up the photo. Fluttershy looked up at the stallion, a hearty smile on his face. He gave the photo back to her, blowing a bit of dark auburn Mane out of his face, though a bit of the bangs had remained in place in-between his eyes. He was wearing big black saddlebags—the kind of bags that some Ponies that go hiking on mountains would wear, or those in the military would carry.

The kind that appeared very heavy. But, given his stature, he didn't seem to mind nor notice their weight. He was well-built and strong looking, having the kind of fit structure and muscles to be a Work-horse, perhaps with a bit of Clydesdale in his genetics helped with such an appearance.

"Madam? Are you…looking for someone?"

"O-Oh! Oh yes! I-I'm looking for my friend…" Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the picture of Applejack. "H-her name is Applejack. D-D-do you happen to know w-w-where she went, Mister..."

She had noticed a little sticker label on a card around his neck, which read:

' **HELLO! My Name is: **Hymie'

Fluttershy had giggled. The Stallion—Hymie—had blushed. "Ah….that's not my name, but the madame who made the tag looked….too busy handling the rest of them. You see, my name is—"

"Oh, Fluttershy, there you are, Darling! I'm terribly sorry, sir, I hope she isn't bothering you." Rarity said, catching up with the pink-maned Pegasus.

"oooh! I-I hope I wasn't being a bother…."

"Ah, no, there's no problem here." Hymie sighed. "She was only asking if I had seen her friend. As a matter fact, I have. I was looking for her myself, but I hadn't seen her since this morning. I thought maybe she would be here, but no such luck." Hymie frowned. "I am afraid that I may have missed her—I've been having a hard time adjusting to this . . . place, as of late. I'm not exactly from around here."

A loud growling sound had been made, Hymie grimacing. "Excuse me, madams…but I need to go…" and with that, the stallion had turned and ran out of the stadium, passing by Twilight and Pinkie Pie in the process.

"What a peculiar Gentlecolt…"

"I t-t-think he was….n…nice."

**(((+++)))**

Twilight was on the verge of giving up. Not a single Pony knew where Applejack had gone. She kept hitting her head on the table (lightly, however) trying to think of where she went and just _why _She left.

" 'cuse me, miss? I think ah know where that Pony went."

Twilight, hopeful, looked up at the Pony. "You do? Where?"

She pointed out west…towards the badlands. "Ah do believe she was headin' for Dodge."

All of them grimaced and frowned. '_Why did it have to be Dodge?'_

**(((+++)))**

Yugi had sat on the train across from Pinkie, a table between the two as they played a friendly game of Jumping Jacks. A puzzle box sat next to Yugi, though Pinkie was the first to offer to play with the jacks and ball she had brought (and the puzzle inside was more for just one person anyways). Pinkie had three bottles of sarsaparilla that had not been opened on one side of her while she had six bottles that were already empty on the other side.

"I am only going to say it once; you are going to regret drinking all that sarsaparilla, considering that this train does not have a bathroom and it will be hours before we reach Dodge." Yugi said, taking four jacks before the ball had landed.

"Oh, don't be silly! I've got a bladder like iron!"

". . . A bag of candy corn says you don't." Yugi said, grinning. Pinkie grinned back with a raised eyebrow. "You're on, Mr. Motou! You'll be eatin' those words when we get back to Ponyville with Applejack if she's in Dodge!"

_Swiiiipe_, and Pinkie had taken the rest of the jacks after bouncing the ball, before it could hit the table again. Yugi had blinked at how quick she was, though she had only grinned.

That's when he yawned. For some reason, he felt incredibly tired. "I…I think I'm going to take a bit of a nap, if that's alright with you, Pinkie."

"Oooh! Okay, I'll wake you up when we arrive in Dodge, Yugi! Hope you have a nice dream while you nap! Maybe about monkeys, or bicycles, or Monkeys on Bicycles! Oooh, or even about Cotton Candy Clouds and Hills made of gumdrops…."

Yugi had then drowned out Pinkie's chatter as he closed his eyes, everything going silent.

When he opened them again, he found himself alone on the Train. He groaned. "Pinkie, I thought you said you'd wake me up…"

However, when he had looked around…the train was much, much different. And _Absolutely Empty_. He blinked, sliding out of the seat and walking down the isle of the train car, until his ears flicked, hearing Twilight's voice. He sighed—they must've just moved up and forgot to wake him up and tell him. He moved into the car, seeing Twilight sitting by Pinkie…

Pinkie looking very different. Her colors were dull, her mane and tail all flat. She was looking out the window, a glazed, neutral mask over her face, hiding her stronger emotions. Twilight had looked at the depressed-looking Pinkie, very thoughtful and concerned.

"Achoo!"

No response. Yugi had frowned…it was really unlike her.

Twilight pointed out the window. "Woow! The view is awesome! Come on, check it out!"

Still Nothing.

Twilight then smiled. "I heard that Sunshine Canters has the most wonderful beaches! It's too bad I forgot to pack a bathing suit—"

Pinkie had flicked her tail, but said nothing more.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie, you _have_ to cheer up! I know things are bleak, but I promise we'll—"

Pinkie had gotten up before she could finish her sentence. "I'm sorry…but I think I need to be alone." She droned out in a flat, emotionless voice. With that, Pinkie had trotted away, going toward the passing space between the two train cars.

Yugi walked by Pinkie. "Hey, Pinkie, what's wrong?"

There was no response. Yugi cutted in front of her. "Hey! Pinkie, how can I help you if you're—"

Yugi suddenly shivered as Pinkie _Went right through him._ Now he stared at her back as she kept walking, though she paused, as if she sensed the cold feeling as well, but continued after a short minute, closing the door behind her.

Yugi had followed, dumbfounded, but he opened the door, seeing Pinkamena looking at her hoof. She let out a frustrated scream before hitting the hoof against the wall, slumping down and silently crying.

"Yugi….I wish I could take it back…"

The small pegasus reached, putting his hoof on hers. "Take what back?"

That was when she looked up, locking eye contact.

Her eyes were as violet purple as his, rather than their soft, bright blue. ". . .Yugi?" Pinkamena spoke, a subtle, deep echo ringing with her words.

"Pinkie, what's wrong? What do you want to take back?"

She then snarled, her hoof soon flaring with strange dark energy.

"Pinkie…? Pinkie?"

"**You're. Not. YUGI."**

Pinkamena drew back her hoof and then flung the dark shadowy energy at him, and just as it collided—

"Yugi, Darling? We'll be at the train station in a minute, darling—"

"GAAAH!" Yugi awoke with a start, startling Rarity. "what-huhwha….um…uh…"

"Darling, are you alright?"

"Um….yeah, just a dream…" Yugi weakly chuckled.

"Just a dream."

**(((+++)))**

"I hope this Lead doesn't turn out to be a dead-end. I don't want to go back to ponyville empty-hooved after we promised to find her." Rainbow Dash spoke, looking out the window as the others prepared for the stop, though Pinkie…

Well, now Pinkie owed Yugi a bag of Candy Corn.

"I don't know how we'll break it to the Apple Family."

"I don't know how we'll Break it to Ponyville!"

"I don't know how I'll _Make it to the next stop!_"

Yugi had given Pinkie a "I-Told-You-So" Look.

Soon, the train had stopped, and everyone had gotten off the Train, Yugi lost in thought.

"Is something wrong, Yugi?" Twilight spoke to the colt, snapping him out of his train of thought.

"Sorry, Twilight…it's just…I had a weird dream. I'll be fine, though. We should probably fan out and search for Appleja—"

Pinkie Pie had zoomed by them all, rapidly knocking on the door to an outhouse.

"hurryhurryhurryhurry! Hurry up in there!"

The Door had opened, slamming into Pinkie Pie's face. Applejack walked out, while Pinkie rushed inside.

"Sheesh, Some Ponies…."

Pinkie had paused, running to the group. "I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her~!"

She pointed a hoof at Applejack, who had noticed them all the minute she turned her head.

"Oh thank heavens you're alright, Applejack!"

"We were so worried about you!"

Applejack, however, noticed that Yugi was looking right at her, forehooves crossed.

He had no need to say anything.

The look he gave her was definite on its own.

'_We need. To Talk.'_

_**(To Be Continued…)**_


	12. Renewing A Bruised Apple, Pt 3

_**((Previously On 'A Game Comes To Equestria'…))**_

_"Are you absolutely sure that's what the telegram said?"_

_"Here, why don't you read it for yourself, Sheep Boy?" Rainbow Dash Said, handing the telegram to Yugi._

_"'Family and friends: Not coming back to Ponyville. Don't worry, will send money soon.'"_

_"Didn't you say Shining Armor would let you know if Applejack or the whole rodeo was in any danger or trouble?"_

_Yugi groaned, lying back and nodding. "But I haven't received any message from him the whole week! The last thing I ever received about it was the stadium being set up and about this Foreigner….entering the competition…"_

_"D….do you think Applejack m-m-might've been t-t-taken?"_

_"There's only one way to find out—we need to head to Canterlot and see what's going on. It's the best place to start.". . ._

…_" 'cuse me, miss? I think ah know where that Pony went."_

_Twilight, hopeful, looked up at the Pony. "You do? Where?"_

_She pointed out west…towards the badlands. "Ah do believe she was headin' for Dodge."_

_All of them grimaced and frowned. 'Why did it have to be Dodge?'…_

_. . ."I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her~!"_

_She pointed a hoof at Applejack, who had noticed them all the minute she turned her head._

_"Oh thank heavens you're alright, Applejack!"_

_"We were so worried about you!"_

_Applejack, however, noticed that Yugi was looking right at her, forehooves crossed._

_He had no need to say anything._

_The look he gave her was definite on its own._

_'We need. To Talk.'_

**(((+++)))**

"_Um….Hey, Everypony_….w…what's up?"

"Why didn't you come back to Ponyville?!"

"Yes, why here?"

"Are you okay?"

"Do you have any snacks?"

Yugi had stayed back; hooves still crossed, and said nothing.

"Tell us what happened, Applejack!"

"Um…."

"Applejack? Are these som' of yer Ponyville Friends?" a friendly drawl had remarked. The Mare that stepped out of a building had given them a warm smile as Twilight walked up to her.

"Yes, We are!"

"and who are you?"

"I'm Cherry Jubilee, Boss of Cherry Hill Ranch. Hasn't Applejack tol' ya? I saw her compete at the Equestria Rodeo! Never seen anypony win so many ribbons in all my life!"

"Ah, shucks, Miss Jubilee, Ya don' have to go into all that…"

"N'aaaw, she's so Modest! Anyway, I could always use a Pony with quick hooves and a strong back! So, when I heard Applejack needed a change of scenery, I snapped her up as quick as I could and brought her here t' Dodge Junction!"

Cherry Jubilee had then seen Yugi. "aww! What a cute littl' Colt friend! He looks like a little china doll!"

Yugi blushed, snorting. "T…thanks."

"Yer welcome! Now, I'll let ya catch up with yer Ponyvile friends, Applejack! See ya back at the ranch!"

Soon all eyes were on Applejack.

" 'Change in Scenery'? What's that supposed to mean?!"

"'s No big deal, guys; Ah thought cherries would be a nice change from apples, So Ah took th' job an' came here, that's it, end of story."

Yugi narrowed his eyes. He wasn't the only one who didn't buy the story.

"That's it? Well that's a terrible story!"

"Sorry, but that's all there is 't tell. Thanks fer checkin' on me, but y'all can go home now. Tell m' family hi and that I'm doin' A-Ok."

"Excuse me, AJ, but we didn't come all the way here, after searching all of Equestria for you, to leave without you!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Well, Ah didn' ask fer you t' come lookin' for me! There is nothin' t' tell and ah'm Not goin' back to Ponyville!"

Yugi huffed, eyes narrowing. "She's hiding something from us."

"We have to get Applejack to spill the beans."

"What?! She had Beans?! I told her I was snacky!"

**(((+++)))**

While the Girls had decided to work alongside Applejack to find out the truth, Yugi had decided to talk to Ms. Jubilee. He patiently waited in her office, gently kicking his hind hooves.

"Sorry for the wait, Sugar, just needed to instruct the girls on the Cherry sortin' line." The red-maned mare spoke, closing the door behind her as she went to her desk.

"Oh, it's no problem—I can understand about it—it is your ranch."

"Mm-hmm. Now, Mr. Motou, May I tell ya first off that it is my pleasure to answer any questions you may have about me and my fine establishment, but I'd like to ask, why do ya want to know?"

"I'm just looking into something, ma'm. I promise I won't press any further if I ask anything that feels too personal."

"Don't worry 'bout it, Honey. Now…what would you like to ask?"

"About Applejack's employment….aside from my friends, is she the only one who works here?"

Cherry Jubilee sighed. "Well, not exactly, sugarcube. I used to have a whole good staff prior to the rodeo—not to mention I helped with the Cherry buckin' myself from time to time, but things…well, real strange things have happened."

"Y'see, One night, when everypony was doin' some late work cherry-buckin', this green shootin' star fell outta the sky and into the west orchard! My best workers near there investigated to make sure anypony near there is okay. Now, I didn' know what happened exactly, but one of the boys told me they found these pretty green gems right there in that itty-bitty rock. One of them offered me one, but I declined—as pretty as it was, green ain't my kind of color. Days later, everypony was actin' all strange—a lot more rougher, a lot more tougher and a lot more _Rude _and _Cold_ Towards everypony in town! There wasn't a day that passed where they would pick fights with some of the ponies in town."

"And that's only the tip of the Iceberg, Sugar. Most of the Ponies they'd fight would fall into comas, and when they decided to play a game of Poker against one another, all of 'em just dropped like flies! It wasn't long until I was th' only one left on the ranch and not in the hospital! If you haven't noticed, even though it seems like it's crowded, the town is gettin' emptier by the week! Everypony still standing is fixing to head elsewhere—whether be to move out of town or just get away for a while. I haven't gone near the west Orchard since, and I advised Applejack to keep away as well."

Yugi put a hoof to his chin. _'Green gems?' _he shivered. "Is it kind of clear, like glass?"

Cherry Jubilee nodded. "They were wearin' the ones they got 'round their necks or on them somewhere, so there wasn't a day where I didn' see 'em."

'_So they were like the ones from Nightmare Night, around those Griffins' necks…'_

He didn't know why….but his gut was telling him that the "Gems" were bad news. Shaking his head, he turned to Ms. Jubilee. "So, you needed a strong back and a fast set of hooves, so you hired Applejack when she needed the 'change in scenery' immediately?"

"That's 'bout right, but she wasn't my first candidate. There was this other pony—a real tall and strong stallion—there at the rodeo. He was awfully good—put his heart into it somethin' fierce. However, I never got the chance to talk to him."

"Did you know his name at all?"

"Well, the only name I heard from him was Hymie, but I think they might've gotten the poor feller's name wrong."

That was when there was a knock at the door. Yugi had gotten up to answer. While walking to the door, he asked another question. "How did you meet Applejack?"

"Ah, I had a cherry stand open, and she just stopped by now and then. Bein' Orchard folk, it was natural to strike up a conversation—"

Yugi opened, seeing a tall, well-built Earth Pony with big black saddlebags standing in the doorway. He looked down, yellow eyes looking into violet. The Pony had seemed to recognize Yugi, though he had shaken his head.

"I'm terribly sorry. Did I come in at a bad time?" he spoke politely, though Yugi had tilted his head in curiosity. His voice sounded familiar, yet it was different in contrast—and he had never met this Pony before.

"Ah, no! You Must be Mr. Hymie!"

"Ah, no, my name isn't Hymie, Madame…I can just come back another time—"

Yugi shook his head. "I'll let you talk to her, sir. I'll be back, anyways, ma'm. is it alright if I take a stroll in the orchards?"

"Ah! Go right ahead, darlin'! just be careful if you wander into the West Orchard on accident!"

"Alright, I will, thank you!" with that, Yugi walked by the tall stallion, noting his Cutie Mark—a pair of claws wrapped around a ruby red gem—and the bulges of one of the bags.

"Now, Mr. Hymie, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to talk, Madame, and my name isn't Hymie, my name is. . ." was all Yugi got to hear as he shut the door and trotted to the orchard.

**(((+++)))**

The scent of the cherries floated around in the fresh air of the Orchard as Yugi walked through it, investigating the Orchards as far as he could. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was Being Watched. Stopping, he turned. . .

Seeing a Bat looking at him from the trees. More specifically, a _Fruit _Bat. It was a little red Cherry Fruit bat, which had blinked at him and then flew towards his head, landing in his fluffy mane.

Yugi didn't scream or flinch, but rather…laughed, in relief. It wasn't meaning any harm to him, and it wasn't anything threatening. The small Cherry Fruit Bat settled in his mane as he continued, the trees and their blossoms and leaves growing darker as he got closer to the west.

It wasn't long before he felt the air gain a dark, heavy tone to it. The Bat had squeaked, burrowing deeper into his mane as he carefully pressed on. It had grown darker and denser, and eerie, as if the West Orchard had been abandoned for years. Yugi once again felt the feeling that he was being watched, but had ignored it the moment he saw a sinister, green glow coming from deep in the orchard.

His steps slowed as he drew closer to the source of the glow, the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach growing. The minute he stopped, he was about eight feet closer to the source. He couldn't deny the feeling of somepony being there with him, watching in the forest, silently.

The hoof where he had received his burn had ached, making Yugi wince and limp just near the edge of the source, seeing a large formation of crystals, green and glowing.

His head ached, disorienting his focus as the crystals shined brighter…

And he swore he saw a pair of bright, emerald-green eyes, peering from behind the glossy reflection of the green crystalline mound.

"_Mwa…ha…ha…haa…." _Emerged a dark, yet seductive laugh.

"_There you are."_

Yugi had winced, a loud high pitched noise sending the pegasus' vision reeling, and soon, he was in absolute pain. He covered his ears, trying to block out the noise and the pain, but it didn't fade, and it only grew worse.

The last thing he had remembered seeing, even though his vision swam, was a flash of Mud Brown running towards him, shouting something at him.

**(((+++)))**

_He didn't know how long he was running. But it was obvious that the chase was not over. He once again found himself running into solid stone—the dead end. However, this time he turned to face her, determined to take control. _

_As she pounced, he quickly turned and bucked her, sending her sprawling onto the ground._

"If you want to take me down," _Yugi snapped,_ "You'll have to beat me first!"

_The Unicorn giggled, becoming more visible to him. Her body was dark, and her eyes red, pupils slit like a snake's. Her mane and tail however, was golden blonde in color. Her cutie mark was a strange, green seal over a black splotch on her fur, as if it covered her real cutie mark entirely._

"You want to go out fighting, hmm?" _she giggled manically, her eyes gaining a glow as her horn glowed with a green aura._ "Fine then—I'll take your flesh and soul at the same time!"

_A pulse of magic went out from her horn, forming into a circle that descended and entrapped them, a star with six points forming in its center. Symbols and runes Yugi could not read filled the borders of the circle, and the matching circle on the Unicorn's flank had shimmered brightly._

"It's a knock-out contest, pathetic little Foal. Only one of us can leave this with our souls intact—and if you want to be the one, you'll have to take me out and make sure I stay down. Savvy, Foal?"

_Yugi snorted, looking dead serious._ "You're on—and the minute I defeat you, I'm going back to save my friend!"

"Ha-Ha-Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

_It wasn't long before they had butted heads, holding each other in a lock. The Unicorn threw Yugi off, charging a blast of green magic to fire at him at the tip of her horn. Yugi had dodged the blast, rolling onto his hooves and tossing a rock, whacking her across the face._

_She snarled, charging and ramming into Yugi's gut, making him yelp and fall to the ground. He coughed, but he wasn't about to give up. Unfortunately, the Unicorn kept attacking as he tried to get up, every time knocking the wind out of him until he could barely stand._

"Give up, foal!"

"Never!"

_Her horn sparked, a green fireball forming at its tip, and with a shrill cackle, she whipped it at him. Yugi winced, preparing for impact. . ._

_Until he had felt something brush against his cheek—it felt silky, but cold. Looking up, he had seen an envelopment of starry, blue-purple mist._

_But it wasn't Luna defending him—Rather, it was Nightmare Moon. She had shoved Yugi behind her, a dark blue aura deflecting the green fireball._

"I do not approve of your motives, little Mage, Nor do I appreciate you attacking one of _My _Servants!"

'Servant?!'

_Nightmare Moon had charged up another blast and fired it, the starry mist knocking the unicorn out cold. The Circle had descended on the Unicorn, the light growing stronger. Yugi had moved to try and pull her out, but Nightmare Moon had blocked him._

"Wait, what if—"

"No, child. When a mare combats someone in the wretched seal and loses, its magic does not leave without taking a soul first. Do not help this weakling." _She responded._

_Yugi had gotten around her legs and ran towards the unicorn, though by the time he reached, the glow had disappeared…_

_And with it, the Unicorn's body faded._

"But….how…"

"It is beyond my reasoning. Come, my servant."

_Yugi huffed._ "I'm Not your servant! And if you don't mind, I'm going to go and help my friend—"

_Nightmare Moon turned, an eyebrow raised._ "You wish to risk your life for a selfish stallion?"

"He's Not Selfish! He's my friend! He risked his life to save me!"

_Nightmare Moon laughed, only making Yugi more irritated._ "You really believe that stallion is your friend? I'll let you in on a secret—he doesn't care for you, Little Foal! He's using you so he can gain power—once he's done with you, he'll toss you aside. He doesn't care who suffers, as long as he has power!"

_Yugi snapped, his mane once again catching fire, violet flames replacing his mane and tail._ **"You're Lying! Why should I believe you, when you tried to cast eternal night on Equestria?"**

_Nightmare Moon only sneered._ "That depends. How much do you truly know about your so called 'friend'?"

_Yugi winced, the flames calming, but not disappearing._ "I….I…"

"Exactly, you know nothing at all about him, do you? Now, choose, would you rather live a lie until he disposes of you, or would you rather face the truth and follow me?"

_Yugi glared at Nightmare Moon._ "How do I know that you're not lying?"

_Nightmare Moon only sneered again._ "You're very ungrateful to somepony who had went out of their way to save your life. You're better off as a servant to me than a slave to him."

_The flames burned brighter._ **"I. AM. NOPONY'S. SERVANT!"**

_Yugi then had charged at Nightmare Moon, the Dark Mare responding in turn by charging her magic, ready to blast a spell right at him._

SMACK!

Yugi instantly woke up, rubbing his head as he looked what he rammed himself into—

…A cherry tree. He grumbled as the small fruit bat crawled out of his mane, squeaking and flying into the tree. He was very far from the West Orchard now, by noting the lighter air and the sunlight filtering through the trees. He decided to head back to the barn, head hurting.

**(((+++)))**

"...I like Funny words! One of my favorite funny words is kumquat! I didn't make that one up! I would just work in a Kumquat Orchard just so I can say Kumquat all day! Kumquat, Kumquat, Kumquat! …And Picklebarrel! Isn't that just the funnest thing to say? Picklebarrel, Picklebarrel, Picklebarrel! Say it with me! Picklebarrel, Kumquat, Picklebarrel, Kumquat, Chim-Cherry-Changa!"

"Noooo! Make it Stop, Make it Stop!" Applejack finally exclaimed.

"The only way to make it stop is for you to spill the beans!" Rainbow Dash said, covering Pinkie's mouth.

"Never!"

"…Speaking of Beans, Did you ever realize how many words rhyme with beans?! Lean, Mean, Stream, Agleam!"

"Alright! Ah'll tell everypony what's goin' on, just Pllleeeaaaseee stop talking!"

Everyone had emerged from the trees, Yugi as well.

"But can it wait until Breakfast tomorrow? Ah'm Plumb tuckered out."

"Tomorrow, huh? Well…"

"Do ya Pinkie Promise?"

Applejack Sighed, making the gesture with her hooves. "Ah will tell ya the whole truth AT breakfast, Pinkie Promise."

**(((+++)))**

Yugi had walked over to Applejack's room, wanting to talk before heading to bed. He knocked.

"Who 's it?"

"It's me, Applejack."

The door was open a crack, Applejack peering out. "Mr. Motou, ah said we'd talk at breakfast."

"…Please don't play dumb. I know you're not going to show up at breakfast."

Applejack froze. "H-How—"

"You left a loophole in your promise—you didn't promise to tell everyone tomorrow morning, you promised to tell them at breakfast. If you don't show up, then you can't tell them. I'm suffering from Amnesia, not stupidity, Applejack."

Applejack sighed, opening the door all the way. "what are ya gonna do then, Yugi? Ar' ya gonna make me talk?"

"I'll try, but not by force."

"Welp, tough luck—even if yer a good friend, Ah'll nevah tell ya anythin'."

"….What if I challenged you to a contest?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ya wanna play a game wit' me?"

Yugi nodded. "If I win, you tell me the truth, down to the last detail—you don't have to tell anyone else, just me. If I lose, then I'll let you go without saying a word. I promise."

Applejack's eyes looked thoughtful. She looked at Yugi, holding out her hoof. "Shake if ya mean it, then."

Yugi shook her hoof. "So, then, Sugarcube, what's th' game yer fixin' on?"

Yugi smiled. "Ever played a game of 'Catch And Buck'?"

_**((To Be Continued…))**_

_**((A/N: just a random reminder, but for anyone reading this story that visits TVTropes, there is a Tropes Article on there for this Story. If you'd like to help build on it and edit it, I would appreciate it loads. Thank you for your continuous support!))**_


	13. Renewing A Bruised Apple, Final Part

_**((Previously, on A Game Comes To Equestria…))**_

"_Applejack? Are these som' of yer Ponyville Friends?"_

"_and who are you?"_

"_I'm Cherry Jubilee, Boss of Cherry Hill Ranch. Hasn't Applejack tol' ya? I saw her compete at the Equestria Rodeo! Never seen anypony win so many ribbons in all my life!"_

"_I could always use a Pony with quick hooves and a strong back! So, when I heard Applejack needed a change of scenery, I snapped her up as quick as I could and brought her here t' Dodge Junction!"_

" '_Change in Scenery'? What's that supposed to mean?!"_

"'_s No big deal, guys; Ah thought cherries would be a nice change from apples, So Ah took th' job an' came here, that's it, end of story."_

_Yugi narrowed his eyes. He wasn't the only one who didn't buy the story._

…"_About Applejack's employment….aside from my friends, is she the only one who works here?"_

"_Well, not exactly, sugarcube. I used to have a whole good staff prior to the rodeo—not to mention I helped with the Cherry buckin' myself from time to time, but things…well, real strange things have happened."_

"_Y'see, One night, when everypony was doin' some late work cherry-buckin', this green shootin' star fell outta the sky and into the west orchard! My best workers near there investigated to make sure anypony near there is okay. Now, I didn' know what happened exactly, but one of the boys told me they found these pretty green gems right there in that itty-bitty rock. Days later, everypony was actin' all strange—a lot more rougher, a lot more tougher and a lot more Rude and Cold Towards everypony in town! There wasn't a day that passed where they would pick fights with some of the ponies in town."_

…

"_Alright! Ah'll tell everypony what's goin' on, just Pllleeeaaaseee stop talking!"_

_Everyone had emerged from the trees, Yugi as well. _

"_But can it wait until Breakfast tomorrow? Ah'm Plumb tuckered out."_

"_Do ya Pinkie Promise?"_

_Applejack Sighed, making the gesture with her hooves. "Ah will tell ya the whole truth AT breakfast, Pinkie Promise."_

…_._

"_Mr. Motou, ah said we'd talk at breakfast."_

"…_Please don't play dumb. I know you're not going to show up at breakfast."_

"_You left a loophole in your promise—you didn't promise to tell everyone tomorrow morning, you promised to tell them at breakfast. If you don't show up, then you can't tell them. I'm suffering from Amnesia, not stupidity, Applejack."_

_. "what are ya gonna do then, Yugi? Ar' ya gonna make me talk?"_

"_I'll try, but not by force."_

"_Welp, tough luck—even if yer a good friend, Ah'll nevah tell ya anythin'."_

"…_.What if I challenged you to a contest?"_

_Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ya wanna play a game wit' me?"_

_Yugi nodded. "If I win, you tell me the truth, down to the last detail—you don't have to tell anyone else, just me. If I lose, then I'll let you go without saying a word. I promise."_

"_So, then, Sugarcube, what's th' game yer fixin' on?"_

_Yugi smiled. "Ever played a game of 'Catch And Buck'?"_

**(((+++)))**

_Catch And Buck was _a rather simple game. A machine would shoot a ball out to the pony, and all the pony had to do is to buck it back into the basket underneath the machine it came from. However, you had to do it with your back turned, not once looking back. The winner was the one who got the most balls into the basket at the end of five minutes.

Yugi was rather grateful that Pinkie Pie had brought a good number of balls in case of a ball emergency at Dodge Junction, since there were no apples on the ranch and Cherries were too soft.

"So, are you ready?"

"Ah'm ready, but who's gonna start up the machines?"

"I will." A voice spoke as Hymie appeared. Applejack had given a nervous glance at Hymie, but shook it off. Yugi mentally filed away that notion and prepared his focus.

Most of the time, Rainbow Dash would play this game with him, using Clouds instead of the balls, but the trick was the same—the Key was focusing on your senses of touch and hearing. You had to rely on those senses to know exactly when to buck to the target without missing or getting hit.

"Are you both ready?"

"Ready!"

"Then, let's begin!"

The Machine began to fire, and they began to buck. Yugi had taken a bit of a lead, though once Applejack got the hang of it, she began overpassing him. Given all of her time working on the family ranch and here, she was much quicker to buck back the balls than he was, and had much more endurance and muscle for a competition like this than Yugi, even though Yugi had built a bit of muscle over the year and got stronger.

But even with Applejack's endurance, she wasn't a long-lasting Pony. He didn't need to outdo her—he just needed to tire her muscles out.

"Jus' call it quits now, Sugarcube! You can't beat me at somethin' ah've been doin' all my life!" Applejack spoke between pants. Yugi was already getting tired, but he was not finished.

"I'll finish when time is up!" Yugi said, bucking another ball back. "All I want is the truth, Applejack!"

"And ah said, ah ain't gonna tell ya'll nothin'!"

It wasn't long before Yugi had collapsed, too tired to buck anymore. It had been clear that he had lost, Applejack outbucking him in the game. She trotted over to him, looking just as tired, but with a stern expression on her face.

"Now yer gonna keep true t' YER word, Mr. Motou, An' yer gonna keep yer mouth shut. D'ya hear?"

"…you have my word. I will not stop you, and I'll let you go without a word. I keep my promises." Yugi huffed out.

Applejack huffed, tipping her hat. "G'night, Mr. Motou. Jus' tell my family that ah'm A-Okay. Ah'm terribly sorry 'bout all this, but ah just can't face ya 'bout it." Applejack said, looking at a frowning Hymie. With that, she left Yugi, who lied on the ground.

Hymie trotted over to the small Pegasus, a worried expression on his face. "Young Gentlecolt…are you truly keeping your word?"

Yugi nodded, taking Hymie's hoof and being helped back up on his hooves. "I am. I'm not going to go after her or stop her tomorrow."

**(((+++)))**

"Morning, Everypony!" Yugi chimed, the remaining of the Mane Six (except for Pinkie) responding in groans.

"How is it you and Pinkie get so much energy in the morning?"

"Oh, it's easy! Both Yugi and I are Early-Birdies~!"

Twilight groaned, rubbing her face. "Go figure…well, we'd better go and get Applejack."

Yugi stretched. "You all go ahead. I'm going to find Ms. Jubilee or that Hymie Stallion from last night."

"You won't be joining us for Breakfast, darling?" Rarity asked as Yugi headed for the door.

"Maybe later, but I'm not hungry right now." Yugi responded. _'I'm actually more curious about this Hymie Guy.'_

Once all the girls were up, they left the room towards Applejack's room. Yugi figured that Applejack wouldn't be far off—he had exhausted her with the game enough to make running out of town out on her own difficult—she would have to take a stagecoach or a train, and the train wouldn't be in until eleven thirty or so.

Yugi started towards Hymie's room, knocking at the door. When he didn't get a response, he nudged it open…

To find the Stallion gone. What was left behind, however, was a red helmet with black lining, a helmet he never saw before. Upon the helmet was a note. Focusing his concentration, a Light violet aura surrounded the note and brought the note to him.

" 'Sorry, but I must go after Applejack. I have to do this and set things right.'"

Yugi, immediately feeling a rise of danger added, grabbed the helmet and headed out the door to catch up.

He promised not to stop Applejack. He didn't promise to not stop Hymie.

**(((+++)))**

"I'm So glad we're finally getting some Answers out of Applejack."

"Yeah…Maybe."

"Don't Worry, Rainbow! She's gotta fess up after making a Pinkie Promise!"

Twilight knocked on the door, getting no response. It wasn't until she opened the door that she found the room completely empty, Applejack already gone.

"Morning, Applejack! Ready for Break—"

Pinkie paused, looking around the room. Suddenly her cheerful expression turned to one of absolute anger.

"**NOPONY BREAKS A PINKIE PROMISE!"**

With that, Pinkie rushed out the door, the girls following behind.

**(((+++)))**

Applejack stomped impatiently at the Train Station, looking around her. She looked to her left, seeing the Brown Stallion from before—Hymie, was it?—and...Yugi?

For Horseapple's sakes, she couldn't trust the critter with a promise.

"APPLEJACK!"

'_Oh, Puck me.'_

"**YOU PINKIE PROMISED!"**

Applejack had yelped and darted away from the two pursuing groups, jumping into a stagecoach.

"Giddy-up, fellas, Ah gotta get the heck outta dodge!"

With that, the Stagecoach took off, the girls grabbing their own cart to pursue her.

Hymie and Yugi, however, seemingly pursued on Hoof and Wing, Hymie being much quicker in closing the gap than Yugi (due to his long stature).

**(((+++)))**

Yugi was able to still keep up with Hymie, trying to stop him.

"Wait! You can't do this!"

"I Have to, young colt! It's the only way!"

"Just stop!"

"Don't get in the way!" Hymie responded, whipping his tail at Yugi to try and make him falter, but Yugi quickly dodged.

Yugi and Hymie caught up with the Coach Applejack was in, Hymie reaching into his saddlebags real quick to pull out something.

"Mr. Motou, yer a real persistent liar!"

"I didn't Lie, Applejack!"

"You said ya'd let me go without a word!"

"And I am! But it's not you I'm stopping—I'm trying to stop _Him!_" Yugi yelled, pointing his hoof at Hymie, who had pulled out—

"A SWORD?! WHERE IN TARNATI—"

THWOMP! The Stallions pulling the stagecoach quickly pulled out of the way as Hymie tried to cut the wheels with the sword, making Hymie huff.

"Ah still think ya told the others—"

"No, I didn't! they found out on their own! I said not one word about it!"

"Confound ya and yer darn words! Ah am Not goin' back t' ponyville, and you can't make me, y'hear?"

THWACK! Each time the sword swung, the coach swerved out of the way.

"Just listen to me—"

"FORGET IT, YUGI, AH'M NOT GONNA TALK 'BOUT THE RODEO AND MISTER HYMIE, AND YER NOT GONNA MAKE ME—NOT YOU, NOT MY FRIENDS, NOT ANYPONY, SO WHY DON'T YA JUST—"

"STTTOOOOOP!"

Applejack looked just in time to see the train coming. But she didn't stop the coach. She instead drove through the crossing bars and over to the other side, making it just before the train could hit them. Hymie had been stuck on the opposite side, the Train rolling by.

Applejack had hopped off, the other stallions eying her as Yugi got off.

"Lady, you're Trouble!" with that, they took off.

"HA! Try an' catch me now!"

Without missing a beat, Hymie had jumped with the girls, while they extended their wings…he extended his, a pair of Dragon-like Wings and landing on the other side, sword clattering to the ground and soon chasing after Applejack alongside Rainbow Dash.

Yugi, without a second thought, tackled into Hymie, sending him sprawling to the ground, his bag spilling. Rainbow Dash had done the same with Applejack.

What had spilled out, aside from fitted pieces of red armor that matched the helmet Yugi had brought and a cape….were blue ribbons, mixing with Applejack's other colored ribbons, along with sacks of bits and gold.

"Fine! Now ya know…."

"Know what?" Twilight responded, looking between Yugi, Hymie, the ribbons and Applejack.

"Well, Jus' look!" she said, pointing at the ribbons.

"I am! You won an amazing number of Ribbons, just like Ms. Jubilee said!"

"Don't ya get it? There's every color of ribbon down there! Every color…but…blue. Ah came in Fourth, Third and even Second…but ah didn't win one First prize, nor any prize money."

"But there are blue ones for First Prize….right here, see?" Fluttershy pointed at the sprawl of blue ribbons.

"Those ones, Madame, are actually…they're actually mine." Hymie sighed, getting up. "I'm the Winner of the Equestrian Rodeo."

"If yer here t' rub it in my face, Mr. Hymie—"

"Hymie", this time, stomped his hoof down on the ground. "By the Stars of Atlantis, my name is **Not **Hymie! My name is Hermos! And I wasn't coming to brag about my spoils! I had come to Dodge Junction to apologize!"

Everyone looked at Hermos as he took in a breath and sighed. "I just had to win. It wasn't completely about winning and money—I was _Starving._ If I didn't have something to eat…well, things would be difficult. I had no money to my name, so I entered for the prize money…" The Dragon-winged Stallion folded his wings. "…but I didn't realize your town needed it more…and even worse, the loss drove you away from your family when these fine young ladies came looking for you. I meant to give you half of my winnings to take it back to this 'Ponyville' you live in…but you had already left. That's why I was trying to talk to you, but you just kept ignoring me."

Yugi huffed. "Then why were you attacking the stagecoach with a sword?"

Hermos gave the small Pegasus a look. "Well, if she wasn't going to listen to reason, I'd have to force the coach to stop, so I tried chopping off the wheels!"

"But….if you don't have any money, then why did you send a telegram that said you were?"

"That's why ah came here! Ah wanted t' earn some Money! After that big send-off all of Ponyville gave me, ah didn't want t' come back empty-hooved. Ah couldn't come home a failure."

Yugi had put a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Applejack…Seriously—Did you honestly think we were going to think you're a failure?"

Applejack nodded, looking at Yugi and Hermos.

"You're Not a Failure, Applejack!" Twilight responded.

"Yeah! And we're your friends! We don't care if you came in 50th place! You're still Number one in our books!"

"…S…So…you're not upset or disappointed?"

They all looked at each other before facing Applejack. "Nope."

"But What 'bout the Mayor? I didn' wanna face her without bringin' back some money to fix the—"

Hermos stuck out a hoof. "Say no more, madame. As I said, I was going to split the money for you to take back…and, as an extension of my apologies, I'll help you fix it."

"You can help fix it?"

Hermos nodded. "Yes, I can…." Hermos blushed. "I actually have had experience as a carpenter. I'm sure the Town Hall will be no more difficult than a small house." The Dragon-Winged Stallion said, puffing up his chest in pride. "Of course, I may need a place to live…and something to eat."

"Besides…we can always find a way to fix the hole in the roof otherwise…but there would be nothing to fix the hole in our hearts." Fluttershy spoke. The girls, sans Rainbow Dash, then hugged Applejack. Rainbow Dash had wiped her eyes, trying to hide the tears.

Hermos chuckled. "A little soft, ah, M'lady?"

"Hey! Don't call me lady! I just had some sand in my eye, is all…" Rainbow Dash responded.

"Sooo…Hermos, huh?" Yugi said, helping to pick up what had fallen out of the bag.

"Aye, that's right." Hermos spoke as he helped to put everything that was his in his saddlebag. Then Hermos frowned. "You do not know who I am, do you?"

Yugi shook his head. "sort of lost my memories….you're not one of those monsters, are you?"

Hermos flinched. "No, I am not—Monster is a very degrading word. I am…a friend of a friend of yours. I had come with my friends to search for you…"

Yugi tensed.

"…but what good would it be to bring you back with no memories? Besides, my comrades…" Hermos frowned. "I haven't found them since I've arrived in this Land you call Equestria. I've been stuck wandering, without any money to my name and almost starving. But please! I bring you no harm, honest. I come in peace to help you, not to bear arms against you. It is against my code to force someone into doing something they do not wish to do….and if that means not taking you away from your new friends, so be it."

Hermos extended a hoof. "Please….do you accept my friendship?"

Yugi took in a breath…then shook Hermos' hoof. "I'm sorry about chasing you down, Hermos."

"Apology Accepted. Now we'd better head back to Dodge. We should not miss the train back home, now should we?"

Yugi smiled.

**(((+++)))**

It took a bit to gather supplies and whatnot, but the repairs for the Town Hall went swimmingly. Hermos, the Apple family and the whole town, together, helped fix the roof and made it good as new. Even Derpy helped (and fortunately, didn't make a mess doing so), and Yugi had helped as well.

In the meantime, Hermos had decided to live in Fluttershy's part of the town, not too far from the cottage. With the remaining supplies, he made himself a house. It wasn't anything fancy, but it suited the stallion's needs. He had figured that he would work as a carpenter for his keep, and had helped Fluttershy on occasion.

Yugi, after the work on the Town Hall was done, had visited Hermos in his small, hoof-built house. He was curious about the friend he knew.

"Hermos? Are you here? Hermos?"

"Over here, lad, in the back!"

CHOP! The Stallion had been chopping wood (for the fireplace, he assumed) with an Axe. Yugi walked over carefully, the Stallion setting the axe down.

"Can you tell me something?" Yugi said, seating himself on a stump.

"Hmm? Tell you what?"

"Well…you said you were a friend of a friend of mine…can you tell me about them? Or at least their name?"

Hermos' eyes softened. "Ah. Well, I am not sure if telling you everything would help….But does the name 'Joseph Wheeler' mean anything to you?"

Yugi took in the name. _'Joseph….Joseph…'_

"_C'mon, Yug'! don't tell me ya forgot about yer old pal—"_

"…Joey! I remember him! Joey! You're friends with Joey!"

Then it dawned on Yugi. "….You're not a normal Pony, are you? And it's not just the wings."

Hermos only nodded. "I can only tell you to an extent of what exactly I am, due to your loss of memory….but you must promise not to tell anypony else, not even your friends. Not until they're ready, at least."

Yugi nodded. "I promise."

Once Hermos was assured that no one else was listening, he sat and began to talk.

**(((+++)))**

Twilight closed the book as she finished reading it, filing all of its information away into her mind. Princess Celestia had been sending Twilight a plethora of books to study, but all had a similar subject—Ancient Spells, studies and Histories of a kingdom that nowadays resided under the ocean—Atlantis.

Twilight's current knowledge of the place, aside from being filled with numerous legends, was that only a certain kind of Pony lived there ever since it sunk to the bottom of the sea—Aquatic Equines, or if one wanted to get technical—Sea Ponies and Hippocampi. It used to be a part of the mainland, but something had sunk it deep down into the bottom of the sea. Historians never figured out what that something was.

Though why Celestia wanted her to read up on Atlantean history or on Ancient Spells had escaped the lavender Unicorn's grasp. _'Oh, no…what if Princess Celestia is preparing a Test for me to take on this?!'_ she thought. Spike had looked up from his book. "What's Wrong, Twilight?"

"What if the Princess is expecting me to know all about Atlantean History for a test? When will she let me know of the day? Will I study enough in tim—"

"Twilight, I'm pretty sure there's another reason besides giving you a test. I mean, she would tell you it would be for a test, right?"

"Right, right…." Twilight then gasped. "What if it's a pop quiz?!"

Spike had opened his mouth to say otherwise, but he had then belched out a green flame, which formed into a black book that landed on the floor. It had a note stuck to it.

Twilight had picked up the book, reading the note first.

"_Dear Twilight:_

_I need you to study this as soon as possible and send it back as soon as you can when you're done. DO NOT practice any of the spells in the book, and do not let anypony else touch or even read it. This book contains very dangerous magic, and I want you to exercise caution._

_-Princess Celestia"_

Twilight blinked, but set the note aside and studied the book. It was a black book, old and worn, but the drawing on the cover is what caught her attention. It was a seal, a spell circle of sorts, to which a six-pointed star rested within the middle of it. Runes in a different language had been written all around its borders, and the whole seal was done in a strange, unfaded green. She had blinked, looking curiously at the cover, and looked inside.

"Huh...The Seal of Oricha—"

"Hey, Twilight?"

"Hm?" Twilight said, setting the book down.

"…do you know where Rarity and Pinkie Pie are? I haven't seen them all day since you came back to Ponyville."

'_Oh, Horseapples…'_ Twilight mentally forehoofed.

**(((+++)))**

Meanwhile, all the way back at the badlands, on one pushcart, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had been pushing themselves back….all the while with Pinkie rattling off.

"I mean, what do you think, Rarity? Chimcherry or Cherrychanga? Chimcherry, Cherrychanga, Chimcherry, Cherrychanga, Chimcherry, Cherrychanga…."

Rarity groaned in frustration. "…When I get back, you're gonna get it, Rainbow Dash!"

As they pushed along, they had stopped when they saw something strange in the sky. A strange shape of white light had formed in the air, flying through the sky. Rarity had blinked. It looked like a white dragon in the sky. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

"oooh! Pretty! So, what's your favorite funny word, Rarity? Mine is Kumquat! Isn't it just funny? Kumquat, Kumquat, Kumquat….."

Rarity groaned. It was going to be a long trip home.


	14. I Am No Old Mare's Tale

_**((A/N: this is going to be a short chapter, concerning Celestia and whatnot. It introduces one of my favorites—and I'm pretty sure you can guess who.))**_

**((+++))**

_Cloudsdale had been busy_ preparing for a whopper of a storm that would descend in a week. Many of the Weather Ponies and even the Wonderbolts tried redirecting the storm to go out to sea, but to no success. It was just like the snowstorm over Canterlot, but this time, it was a storm that would spread out to all of Equestria.

It had given her room to land in without having to bother with questions. She walked over to Cloudsdale's forum, a place where all the Leaders of the Pegasi gathered to meet and talk about important issues. She knew that right now they were talking about the storm.

Spreading her white wings, she bucked the door down.

"**MAYOR FEATHERFOOT, I REQUEST AN AUDIENCE WITH THOU!" **She boomed, wind rustling in.

All eyes turned to her as she walked in, the Mayor—a Pegasus mare with her gray mane done in a bun, glasses on her snout and a pale coat—looking very surprised.

"By Celestia's Mane…" she spoke at last. "Guiding Wings?! But, you're an Old Mare's tale….how can you even be here?"

"Well, here I am, and I am no Mare's Tale." Guiding Wings spoke, her long blonde mane gently blowing in the wind.

"Now….I request an audience with you all. And I suggest we hurry, because that storm is coming closer as we speak."

**(((+++)))**

**(1,000 Years ago, Equestrian Time….)**

Celestia Coughed as she came to, seeing dust and rubble around her. The Pink-maned Alicorn couldn't see everything around her, but she could feel she was trapped under some debris. She tried moving, but her wing was still pinned. Her ears flicked, hearing hoofbeats.

"Hello?" spoke a young, female voice. "Is Anypony down there?"

"O…Over here! Please, I'm stuck…" Celestia tried calling out. Then she saw the familiar glow of Lantern light.

"Your Highness?"

"Tia?!"

Celestia kept calling out. "I'm here! Over here!"

"Come on, over here…" spoke a muffled voice. It wasn't long before a pony in a dark cloak approached where Celestia was trapped, and began digging her out carefully, followed by the guard and her young sister.

**(((+++)))**

The small fire burned as Celestia let the Pegasus—who looked around her age—bandage her wings. "Thank you for rescuing me—"

"—Guiding Wings. And it's no problem. I heard your sister screaming your name when we were searching for any trapped townsfolk, so it's alright, Princess." Guiding Wings spoke, nodding to other Pegasus—Identical to her save for their Cutie Marks and that one had their mane in a big braid and one didn't.

"Guiding Wings…I assume that is just a title?"

"It's what they call me here in Equestria. I have a different name back home. Both of us do. My Sister's name here is Raven's Nest."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Raven's Nest spoke, watching Luna and her small Unicorn friend play-wrestle.

Celestia eyed the both of them. They had different colored wings, different in color to their bodies. Guiding Wings' had been a Pure, snow white, almost angelic in a way, while Raven's Nest's Wings looked like…well, they were as black as a raven's own wing. Their Cutie Marks had resembled those wings, circling over a silver heart and what looked to be a dark gray sphere, respectively.

They were dressed identically (nothing new for Identical Twins) in Tribal-like garb, which had reminded Celestia of the Buffalo tribes out in the west, and both had red tribal like markings under their pale yellow eyes.

"Is everything alright up there?" Celestia asked.

Guiding Wings shook her head. "I'm afraid not. This place has been, unfortunately, ambushed."

"Ambushed? By what?"

Both sisters looked at one another. "...You'd think we're crazy if we told you."

Celestia stomped her hoof. "Please. I wouldn't think that, considering how you both saved my life."

Raven's Nest gave her sister a look. Guiding Wings sighed. "I guess we can explain. We—Raven's Nest and I, are a part of a….rather sizable army fighting a war."

Celestia blinked. "A war?"

Raven's Nest nodded. "One on a universal Scale, if we're to be honest. We come from a different realm from you, Princess."

"And What War are you, exactly, fighting?"

Suddenly both sisters had huddled, talking back and forth in a tongue Celestia could not understand, before facing Celestia again.

"We're fighting a war against a rather powerful evil—The Orichalcos."

"Ori-wha…? Sister, what's an Oore-Chal-Kos?" Luna squeaked, looking curious.

Celestia looked confused herself. "Orichalcos?"

Guiding Wings nodded. "It's a dark, corrupting magic that comes from a world separate from yours."

"We don't know much about it…but an Evil King had waged war against the world. But, something else pulled the Orichalcos here as well—and half of our troops had followed. We fear that the one responsible for creating this vile magic is here."

"It's why we're searching for a power to destroy it—and we figured we should try and look for the Prism's Crossing."

Celestia blinked. "The Prism's Crossing? But that's just an Old Mare's Tale."

Tin shuffled his small hooves. "Well…actually…um…my father believes it's real. It's why he went to the North to see the Crystal Queen. He thinks that it lies in the north, sure as the North Star in the sky."

Raven's Nest and Guiding Wings blinked. Celestia had nodded, getting up. "Rising Star, do you believe in it?"

Tin blinked up at Celestia, looking at Luna as well. "Of course I do! Father believes there are other beings that might need our help in different worlds that the Prism's Crossing can access! He even had a dream where there was some sort of creature who was like me!" the small Unicorn colt bounced and spoke. He had blushed, fiddling with his hooves.

Guiding Wings looked thoughtful. "Can you help us get to the north? If anything, we can at least talk to the queen."

"We can try but it can be—"

Suddenly, Celestia paused, hearing rocks and rubble move. Raven's Nest quickly put out the fire. "All of you, get Close to us, and keep quiet." She spoke in a whisper.

A green, eerie light filtered into the darkness of the cave. Celestia felt very uneasy, but kept close, folding her wings over Luna and Rising Star.

Then things went dark once more.

**(((+++)))**

**(Present Day, Equestrian Time…)**

Celestia stirred awake, being awakened by a knocking. She blinked, rising out of bed. Another Memory…what had happened before she had woken up, though? She sighed, heading for the door and seeing a guard.

"Your Majesty, Mayor Featherfoot has arrived with a guest! She wishes to speak to you immediately."

Celestia nodded, giving her mane a quick brush and adjusting her crown as she went out to the courtyard.

Shining Armor had been outside, talking with the Mayor of Cloudsdale, while Celestia's eyes noticed the tall, lanky Pegasus Mare standing in the middle.

Long, blonde mane. Pale yellow eyes. Red markings under her eyes and on her forelegs. White Wings, and a sword strapped to her back, along with other things (one, notably, being a headdress that sat upon her saddlebag).

"…Guiding Wings?" Celestia said at last, taking it all in.

"Celestia…" Guiding Wings said with a smile as she approached the Princess. "It has been a very long time."


	15. A Dark and Stormy Day

_Everyone In Ponyville _Began their bolting down, preparing for the oncoming storm. The Cakes had bolted down or took down everything loose on the Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash had cleared her house out of the path of the storm, and many others began buckling down.

Yugi had been rushing back and forth with Hermos to bring food to Town Hall (as it would be full with Pegasi that Had cloudhouses to live in), Hermos effortlessly pulling a cart of apples and flour and all sorts of food.

Yugi, however, got by with carrying a bag of rice grains. He wasn't completely cut out for carrying anything too heavy. He had bumped into Pinkie Pie, who was already decked out in a raincoat, rain hat, and gumboots.

"Hiya, Yugi! Deliverin' supplies to Town Hall?"

Yugi nodded, looking at Pinkie Pie's attire. "Always prepared for these things?"

"'Yep! I even got my gumboots out! Do ya like 'em? Don't know where I'd be without them! Maybe in the hospital or Infirmary!"

Yugi rolled his eyes. "So, I guess we all meet up at Twilight's house before the storm hits?

Pinkie Pie nodded. "I thought it would be neat to have a storm slumber party! Ooh! And Bon-Bon and Lyra are comin' over too! Bon-Bon's bringing her really awesome candies!"

"Alright! Let me just finish helping Hermos and I'll be over!" Yugi said, heading for Town Hall.

"Okie Dokie Loki!" Pinkie Pie said as she sprang away from Yugi.

Hours passed, and as it did, the sky began to grow darker. Yugi had finished the last of the deliveries, heading for The Golden Oaks Library, When he heard a sound.

A soft squeak, coming from underneath an overturned box.

Yugi blinked, looking at the box. "Hello?"

"Kurri…."

Yugi nudged the box over, revealing a brown ball of fur. One that blinked up at him.

"Hey there, little guy…"

"KuriKuri!" and the ball of fur jumped and glomped Yugi's snout.

"…awww, you're sooooo cute!" Yugi chimed, patting the little fluffy creature and taking it off of his snout. The small ball of fur bounced, sitting on Yugi's back and purring. He couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe it's best we get you out of the way of the storm." He said as he continued to the library.

"KuriKuri!" spoke the creature, snuggling into Yugi's saddlebags.

**(((+++)))**

Laughter had filled the halls of the library as Twilight began setting the table for dinner.

"…So I said, 'Look on the bright side, At least you can toast Marshmallows and catch fish at the same time!'" Lyra said, resulting in more laughter. Fluttershy had looked out the window, watching the rain finally come down.

"Oh, I sure hope Mr. Hermos and Angel are alright. I'm not sure how the animals will handle him."

"I'm sure Hermos is getting along fine with your animals. Though, I am concerned about Yugi…"

Pinkie had frowned, but it had disappeared as the door opened….revealing a rather soaked Yugi. His mane and tail were all wet, drooping down, his yellow bangs obscuring his eyes. "Sorry I'm late…" he said, before shaking himself dry. "Does anypony have a towel?"

Twilight handed Yugi a towel as he began to dry off. The Creature in his saddlebag had soon fallen out, shaking itself off and rubbing its face.

Fluttershy gasped at the small creature. "Yugi! That…that…"

Yugi blinked, looking down at the fluffy creature. "Oh, him? I found him on my way here—"

"He's sooooo Cute!" Fluttershy cooed as she picked up the small creature. "Hello there, Little Friend…."

"KuriKuri!" the creature squeaked as Fluttershy cuddled it.

"aww, Poor darling, you're all wet...Don't worry, I'll dry you off!" Fluttershy cooed as she took the creature to dry him off.

"So, You found yourself a pet, eh, Sheep Boy?" Rainbow Dash said, nudging Yugi's side.

Yugi blushed. "I didn't want to leave him out in the middle of the storm….but; I have no idea what kind of creature he is."

Twilight looked curiously at the creature, which had purred and latched itself to Yugi once it was done drying off.

"He really likes you a lot, Yugi." Fluttershy said, gently petting the creature. Yugi had smiled at pet it as well, to which it purred.

Pinkie Pie looked thoughtfully at the creature, before grinning. "Why don't you call it a Kuriboh?"

"Kuri-What?" the others replied.

"Kuriboh! Kuri because of the sounds it makes, and Boh because I think it would look cute with a really big and pink bow wrapped around it!"

"Well, wouldn't you say Kuri_bow _instead of Kuriboh?" Bon-Bon piped up.

"No! That would be silly! Imagine how ridiculous Kuribow would look written down!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

Yugi snuggled the creature. "Actually, I think I like Kuriboh best. It sounds right, doesn't it, Kuriboh?"

The creature, now known as 'Kuriboh', squeaked in affirmative.

**(((+++)))**

The lights inside had dimmed as storm began, everypony in the library gathered around a lantern, swapping stories.

"…The Team was stuck in the Everfree Forest, all through the dead of the night, with nopony to contact and only having flashlights within their tent. Then, the Unicorn mare starts crying, and her nose got all runny….but there were no Tissues at all." Rainbow Dash spoke, a flashlight close to her face.

"N…n…None?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"None."

"ooooh…"

"Then suddenly, they all heard a noise outside. So they leave the Tent…."

"AAH! Don'tLeaveTheTent,Don'tLeaveTheTent!" Pinkie Pie squeaked.

"Oh yes, Pinkie Pie, they leave the Tent. And that's when…they come….face to face….with the—"

Lyra had popped up, wearing a frightening mask, screeching like a wild animal. Everypony screamed, while Lyra and Rainbow Dash laughed.

"That was Priceless, Lyra! Gimme Hoof!" Rainbow Dash said, High-hoofing the Mint-Green Unicorn.

Yugi popped up from the covers of the sleeping bag he was in, Kuriboh nestled on his head. "That was an….interesting story." He said, settling down. "It's got nothing on this one story I have."

"Oh yeah? Prove it, Sheep Boy."

"Okay then—Flashlight, please."

Rainbow Dash handed Yugi the flashlight as he dimmed the lantern.

"Did any of you hear about the Story of…The Terror Of The Storm?"

Everypony blinked, shaking their heads.

"It all began on a stormy night; just like this…a group of ponies had gathered in this old shore house out on a deserted, desolate seaside cliff, miles and miles away from civilization. When the storm began settling in, all the lights inside went out. That's when they heard it, the sound of a slow, dull scraping noise, like claws scraping against glass. And even more, a foul stench wafted through the whole house, smelling like rotten, slimy fish. It wasn't long when they heard the sound of low, guttural growls. No matter how hard they looked, they could tell where the sounds and smell came from before it was too late, and they found themselves face to face with the horrible, sharp fangs of the Terror Of The—"

KRA-BOOM! Everypony had jumped at the sound of the thunder, Yugi dropping the flashlight in surprise as Kuriboh squeaked.

Rainbow Dash huffed. "Hmf! Wasn't that scary…" though her eyes betrayed her. Fluttershy had peeked from the covers of her sleeping bag, quietly speaking:

"Um….Y…Yugi….could I tell a tale now…? Um, I mean, if it'll be alright."

"Oh? Sure you can, Fluttershy." Yugi said, passing the flashlight to the small Pegasus.

"Okay….ummm…well, I don't really tell scary stories…but….I'd like to tell a story that my m…mother would tell me when I was a filly. It helped me be…l…less afraid of the dark when I go to sleep."

Fluttershy took a breath as everypony faced her, listening. "Once upon a time…b….before the Princesses were even in Equestria…before there was a sun and a moon…there was darkness. There were no stars in the sky, only an inky blackness as far as the eye could see. Because of it, the ponies on the land suffered….their world being nothing but a wasteland swallowed in a dark abyss. They could use candles and lanterns…bu….but, it was only flickers to the everlasting darkness."

"In that darkness, lived a little filly that was very scared of the dark….She would keep candles close, trying to keep them lit so she wouldn't be swallowed by the darkness. Every waking hour, she would make a wish for some light to pierce through the darkness. She kept wishing for the darkness to go away….for a big candle, or lantern, to make the shadows and the creatures that lurked within them away."

"One day, a strange, bright light fell out from the darkness, near the little filly. It was another filly, just like her, but she was all aglow with light. The darkness tried to envelop her, but the light she gave off made the darkness around her go away. The scared little filly approached the other, asking her name. When she said she had no name…the filly decided to name her Candlelight, as her light reminded her of her candles."

"Candlelight wasn't scared of the dark like the little filly. She told the filly she knew a way that would banish the darkness, but she couldn't do it alone. So, the little filly followed her when Candlelight set off to banish the darkness, despite her saying that it was impossible."

"'Nothing is impossible', Candlelight said, 'As long as you're able to hope, and dream, and believe.' They had kept traveling, Candlelight shooing away any monsters in their path, the little filly getting more confident and braver as they went. It wasn't long before they reached the highest peak of a mountain. A Monster, huge and terrifying, had followed them, and Candlelight could not fight it off on her own."

" 'Do you believe, little filly?' Candlelight asked her, 'Please tell me you do. In order to bring the light, you must put all your faith, your hope, into what you believe in.' flustered, the little filly hesitated at first. Then she closed her eyes, and began putting her hopes, her dreams, her wishes and memories, into what she believed in."

"And then what happened?" Twilight asked. "What did she believe in?"

"…She believed in the light. She believed in the friendship that she and Candlelight shared. And suddenly, the darkness had disappeared, the monster destroyed….and in its place were rainbows that danced in the air, and small lights dotted a dark blue plane, shimmering like candles. She was all alone on the mountaintop, Candlelight was gone…but in her place was a brilliant path of light that stretched up, up, up, into the sky. The little filly stepped onto the path and went up it, and as she disappeared into the sky…the whole land soon saw its first sunrise, everything blooming, changing the land from a wasteland into a paradise."

"I…I always learned from that story that even if the dark is really scary…even if it tries to swallow you, then have no fear of it…. If you just put your hopes and faith into something you truly believe in, then there's….there's nothing to fear. That belief will always be a light in what would seem to be everlasting darkness." Fluttershy smiled. "Although….the dark is still very…startling for me sometimes."

**(((+++)))**

Everypony around began to joke or chit-chat, Twilight had exited the room in order to get something.

Pinkie, however, began watching Yugi as he began to preen his feathers. He always started with the top of his wings, before reaching the near bottom of the row of feathers.

"…you remind me of a Kitty cat."

"…Whua?" Yugi had said, midlick.

"When you preen yourself! You remind me of an itty bitty kitty cat!"

Yugi blushed. "Well, Preening is pretty important….but I wouldn't say it makes me look like a cat…"

"It kinda does, really." Lyra said, squinting. "I think it's because you lick before you nibble. It's quite adorable, really."

Yugi blushed. "Um…well…can you at least look away? It feels kind of strange for ponies to watch me preen."

"Oooh, come on, you didn't mind me!"

"That's because I didn't know you were watching."

"awww! Come on, Yugi, it's not all that bad!"

The Pegasus blushed. "It kind of is, since you tend to get ideas…"

Pinkie Pie grinned mischievously. Once Yugi turned his back to resume his preening, she gently pressed the tip of her hoof against one of his wings, rubbing in small circles.

He immediately began laughing, both wings standing erect and unfolded. "P-P-Pinkie! Stop that!"

Lyra grinned as well, and began tickling the other wing, making Yugi go into a laughing fit. Bon Bon held in a snicker as she soon joined in on the tickling, Yugi's laughter echoing in the library. It wasn't long before the girls began to laugh as well, soon stopping as Twilight and Spike came out with a long box.

"Hey, what's that?" Bon Bon had asked as Twilight set the box down and opened it with her magic, revealing a large board along with other little things. The board was huge, its topside decorated like a small miniature of a kingdom, with a village and valley closer to where the other Ponies gathered.

"Pretty fancy, Twilight…Is it some sorta model?"

"Somewhat, Rainbow. It's called a gameboard." Yugi said, getting up and giving it a look over. "Where'd you get this?"

"Well, my brother actually sent it to me. He got it from somepony that was visiting Canterlot from Trottingham—he said the guy made it himself. He sent it to me because he thought I'd get more fun out of it by playing a game with my friends."

Rarity eyed the board, eyes lost in thought. "Why, it reminds me of this one little board a schoolmate of mine had. We used to play with the cutest little dolls on it, pretending we were princesses….It was just absolutely entertaining, and quite cute when I think about it. Though, I'm pretty sure it was not the way the board was supposed to be used."

Twilight had then pulled out a case, inside being little Pony minatures dressed in different clothes. "So, does anyone want to play? I have enough figurines for everypony to try!"

After a bit of thought, everypony decided to give the game a try.

**(((+++)))**

"So, what's the story behind this kingdom?"

"Well, The story of the adventure is quite interesting. The Kingdom was once ruled by a strong king, but it got seized by a curse from a witch. Trapped inside one of the towers of the castle is a prince, who has a power that fuels the curse, as long as he's asleep. Your quest is to get to the castle, defeat the witch and awaken the Prince. You win when you save the prince. Now, since I'll be the Game Master, you all have to create your characters and roll to see who moves first." Twilight grinned. "So, who'll go first…?"

_**(To Be Continued….)**_


	16. Playing Save The Prince, Pt1

_**Previously, on a Game Comes to Equestria…**_

"_So, I guess we all meet up at Twilight's house before the storm hits?"_

_Pinkie Pie nodded. "I thought it would be neat to have a storm slumber party! Ooh! And Bon-Bon and Lyra are comin' over too! Bon-Bon's bringing her really awesome candies!"_

"_Alright! Let me just finish helping Hermos and I'll be over!"…_

"_Hey, what's that?" Bon Bon had asked as Twilight set the box down and opened it with her magic, revealing a large board along with other little things. The board was huge, its topside decorated like a small miniature of a kingdom, with a village and valley closer to where the other Ponies gathered. _

"_Pretty fancy, Twilight…Is it some sorta model?"_

"_Somewhat, Rainbow. It's called a gameboard." Yugi said, getting up and giving it a look over. "Where'd you get this?"_

"_Well, my brother actually sent it to me. He got it from somepony that was visiting Canterlot from Trottingham—he said the guy made it himself. He sent it to me because he thought I'd get more fun out of it by playing a game with my friends."_

…"_So, what's the story behind this kingdom?"_

"_Well, The story of the adventure is quite interesting. The Kingdom was once ruled by a strong king, but it got seized by a curse from a witch. Trapped inside one of the towers of the castle is a prince, who has a power that fuels the curse, as long as he's asleep. Your quest is to get to the castle, defeat the witch and awaken the Prince. You win when you save the prince. Now, since I'll be the Game Master, you all have to create your characters and roll to see who moves first." Twilight grinned. "So, who'll go first…?"_

**((+++))**

_**((A/N: Character Chart, so you know who's who:**_

_**Twilight Sparkle: Game Master**_

_**Applejack: Paladin Ivy Vine**_

_**Pinkie Pie: Bard Honey Sweet**_

_**Fluttershy: Squire (to Ivy Vine) Posie**_

_**Rarity: Noble Rogue Rose Thorn**_

_**Rainbow Dash: Knight Thunder Road**_

_**Yugi: Beast Tamer Wishing Star**_

_**Spike: Sharpshooter Scaley**_

_**Lyra Heartstrings: Mage High Note**_

_**Bon Bon: Cleric Sweetheart**_

_**This game runs on the rules from the game in season 0 and in the manga—lower numbers being a good role (00 is a super critical), higher numbers are bad (99 is a major fumble). I have never played a Tabletop RPG before, so forgive me for any inaccuracies. If dialog is in Italic and closed off by parenthesis, it is out of character of the story within in the game. That said, the following chapters is written in the eyes of the characters they play as in this game.))**_

_The morning sun _stretched across the valley as the day began, a group of hooves walking down a path, and soon arriving at a fork of crossroads. The leader of the group had outstretched her hoof, scanning the horizon carefully. _("ok, roll now." "I got a 12.")_ There wasn't much to see aside from shrubberies and rocks, and the large mountains in the distance.

"Well, my fellow confidants! It is 50 miles to the town in the east, 70 miles to the town in the west, 10 miles to the village in the north and 40 miles from the town we had left from! We can press forward or make camp here." The dark coated mare spoke.

"Rose Thorn, let's just camp here for the night." Replied a unicorn carrying a heavy trunk. "I'm getting tired of lugging your loot around anyways."

"High Note! It is not loot—it is my own personal objects, thank you very much!"

"Whatever happened to packing only what you needed to survive?"

Thunder Road had adjusted his sword belt, rolling his eyes. "You know Rose Thorn…she has to take along everything to do her hair and makeup—"

"Because I SIMPLY can't live without it, dear." Rose Thorn said, tussling some of her dark red locks.

"Well then, you carry the stuff—I'm a mage, not a baggage monkey."

"Be careful where you put it, High Note!"

Thunder Road checked behind him as the rest of the group caught up. Wishing Star stretched, yawning as Ivy Vine counted everyone in tow.

"One, two, three, four, five…seven, eight, nine, counting myself. That should be everyone." Ivy Vine responded, helping to set up camp.

Wishing Star looked around. "So…how far do you think we are from the castle?"

"Still pretty far, but we should reach it in two days' time." Ivy Vine responded, tightening a rope to a tent as she spoke. "If the map's correct, at least."

Wishing Star nodded, crawling into the tent. "Then I guess we rest for now."

"Yeah. No use stampeding like cattle—you never know if someone's watching." Thunder Road responded.

"Or maybe planning something!" chirped the voice of Honey Sweet. "Take everything one bounce at a time!"

_(("Shouldn't that be 'one step at a time'?"_

"_Yeah, but Bouncing is much more fun than stepping!"))_

Night soon descended on the camp, and while everypony else had stayed by the campfire, Wishing Star had been curled up within the tent, fast asleep.

Scaley entered quietly. _(("You have a 30% and higher chance of waking her up, Spike." "Ok! Dice, don't fail me now! …Drat, 45."))_ Of course, he had tripped and fell, sending the small table next to him crashing down. Wishing Star woke up immediately. "Scaley, what are you doing?"

"Oh! Sorry, Wish….I was just getting something for the fire. …sorry if I woke you."

Wishing Star sighed. "It's alright, Scaley. These things happen…" the small pony began putting the table and its fallen contents back up into a proper position as Scaley watched her work.

"….Say…you're not upset about what….happened back there at your home village?"

Wishing Star slightly winced. "….No, it's alright. These things happen, Scaley. I'm fine. I should probably bone up on my knowledge of creatures native here. You go and join the others." She said, not facing the small dragon sharpshooter.

"…O…Okay. But, you know, if you are upset, just know—it isn't your fault at all! Totally isn't." Scaley said, trying to give a reassuring smile to her.

Wishing Star sighed, watching Scaley go. With that, she began to read through her tomes.

**(((+++)))**

"…So Mr. Dubley, the Pig, said to the blacksmith, 'Hey, My good fellow, Why the long face?!'" High Note said as everypony laughed. Ivy Vine had polished her sword while the others had talked. Every now and then, her eyes would wander to Wishing Star's tent.

"…Thinking about what happened at Nightshire, ma'am?" a quiet voice spoke. Ivy Vine had turned her attention to her Squire, an Earth Pony like herself. "Oh…sorry, did I—"

"It's alright, Posie. To answer your question, I was….I just hope she's not stewing over it too much."

"Well..um…with all due respect, ma'am, who wouldn't? She lost so much all in one night. If we weren't there to help her, things would've ended badly for her, even if she was able to fend them off with the animals in her village. At least she was willing to come with us to save the prince."

Ivy Vine sighed. "What does this Prince fella look like, anyhow? When we first heard of him, we never got a definite description of what he looked like. How will we know it's him and not a fake set up by the witch?"

"Well…I guess we can tell when we get there, I guess." Posie said, twirling the tip of her hoof at the ground. "But…I do hope Wishing Star feels all better."

"I hope so too. For now, let's just give her some space so she can adjust to all this."

_(("Encounters of a monster here are 55% and higher. You might get loot if you roll under 10%." "Horseapples! 56!"))_

Suddenly, everypony turned heads at the sound of a roar. A band of monsters had loomed within the shadows nearby, approaching the camp.

"Ah, Hay-bales on fire—they found us!" Sweetheart said, readying her Lucky Wooden Club. High Note had cracked her neck a bit as Ivy Vine assumed the positions with her teammates.

"Alright, listen up! Don't let them get near Wishing Star! We'll take down the whole lot if we have to!"

Wishing Star had poked her head out of the tent, eyes widening as she saw the monsters approaching. She stayed within the tight circle of her teammates, ready to work her own magic when she got the opening to.

_(("Ok, now you're in the battle sequence. Double zeroes are Super Critical hits. Ninety-nines are fumbles, ok? Each of you role a turn in order to attack. Applejack, you're up."_

"…_Yee-haw! Ah got 12!"))_

Ivy Vine charged forward at the first beast, swinging her sword as it glowed with a holy light. The strike had connected, and the beast had lost one of its arms in the process.

_(("Ok, Pinkie Pie, your turn." "oooh, 10!"))_

Honey Sweet had dodged an incoming attack of a monster, snatching a sack of gold bits from off a pouch tied to another beast.

_(("Um….I think I got a 25…"))_

Posie had leapt out of the way of another beast's claws, getting grazed on the flank. She bucked, sending the creature howling and recoiling from grabbing her.

_(("Look! Rarity got lucky!" "Well, splendid! A Super Critical!"))_

Rose Thorn had readied the gauntlet at the monster Ivy Vine had wounded. She had then fired a powerful blast of magic from within the gauntlet, striking with a punch that had made the monster explode from the force and the magic combined.

_(("Well, that was messy." "Alright! My turn to shine! Oh yeah! 00 up! Time to get awesome, Thunder Road!"))_

Thunder Road smirked to himself as his wings outstretched, his whole body beginning to crackle with electricity. Bouncing from each monster, each strike had brought a force of lightning down upon them, frying each unfortunate target as Thunder Road sliced through others.

One monster—a small runt that looked like a mix of a bug and a pony, charged at Wishing Star.

_(("I choose to use the Taming Spell." "You have a 15% chance of succeeding." "And I got 10."))_

Without a second thought, Wishing Star's horn glowed, her magic surrounding the creature and taming it, it soon taking sides with Wishing Star and fighting back with its own magic.

_(("What did Yugi befriend?" "I think he befriended a Changeling." "What's a Changeling, Twi?" "According to the book, it's a creature that can take on the form of other ponies that it encounters and feeds off of energies generated from emotions, the main emotion varying from its color. This one is purple, so it feeds off of negative energies like fear and terror." "…Cool. Wonder if they exist?" "I'll have to check later."))_

Another beast lunged at Rose Thorn from behind, Scaley aiming his pistols at the creature.

_(("Awesome! 06!"))_

Five shots rang out, taking out the monster before it could take Rose Thorn down. "Are you alright, M'lady?"

"I'm fine, thank you, darling."

_(("08! I'll cast fireball!" "Just don't aim it at me!"))_

High Note's horn glowed, eight fireballs appearing, blazing by her side, before she whipped them at the remaining monsters. The few remaining that were not roasted had begun to retreat, Sweetheart banging her club against a few monsters' heads to make sure they were dead. She then casted her healing magic on any of her injured teammates.

"How in the name of all things holy did they find us so quickly?!"

"Thunder Road, I thought you said you covered our tracks!"

"I did!"

"Really now?"

"….ok, well, I covered up _most_ of our tracks. _Most._"

"This is so Predictable of you, Thunder, were you off flirting with nearby milkmaids when we were getting out of town?"

"Well, I'm sorry; it's kind of hard to brush away your tracks when you keep making more of them, Paladin Stick-up-my—"

"Are you asking for a fight, Thunder?"

"Like you'd dish it out on me, Ivy Rash!"

It wasn't long before Thunder Road and Ivy Vine had tackled each other and tumbled into the ground, fighting one another.

_(("Give me the dice." "Okie Dokie, Yugi!" "Right, super critical."))_

Wishing Star had picked up a bucket, filling it with water and cooling it down until it was Ice Cold. She then _dumped_ the ice water over the two fighting ponies, and very quickly _slapped_ the both of them.

"ARE YOU TWO OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MINDS?!" Wishing Star spat. "We've been attacked, and your first plan of action is to _attack each other?!_"

Thunder Road pointed a hoof at Ivy Vine. "She started it—"

In came two more slaps.

"WELL, I'm ENDING it! You're both acting like foals!" Wishing Star huffed. "We need to move, as soon as possible. They may come back with more allies if we just sit around and wait." With that, Wishing Star grabbed as much of her stuff as she could, and began down the path, the purple Changeling following her.

Deciding to follow Wishing Star and not to waste any more time, the group had packed as much as they could, and after covering their tracks, they followed behind the upset unicorn.

**(((+++)))**

_**Meanwhile, outside of the Game, In Canterlot…**_

Luna had watched the storm thunder and roll outside the library window. She couldn't help but feel troubled and worried, seeing that her sister had been rushing about, not explaining anything to her.

Ever since that last investigation of trouble in Dodge Junction, her sister had been on edge. Something that would ruffle the feathers of her sister, given how calm and orderly she was in tense situations, wasn't anything trivial.

This storm hadn't helped much, either. Uncontrollable weather patterns were rare in Equestria, but they were happening more frequently as of late. Not to mention, the appearance of _monsters_, ones not native to Equestria. She had assumed they were from a different world—a dimension that hovered outside of their own….

But how did they get here? And why are they appearing now?

"Princess Luna?"

"Ah, Sister, I was wondering if—"

However, the lanky mare she came in face with was not her sister. Guiding Wings had looked Luna up and down, before she let a smile appear on her face. "If it isn't Little Luna! All grown up as well!"

Luna blinked, sputtering as the Pegasus swept her up, giving the Princess of The Night a hug.

"Gah! Unhand me at once! I am not Little…! Wait…Guiding Wings?"

The Pegasus nodded, yielding to her demands. "I was afraid you didn't recognize me, Luna….but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't at first. You were a young foal when we first met."

"…you've gotten taller."

Guiding Wings nodded. Luna then squinted. "You are as old as us—even more so now, since we had met you _over a thousand years _ago."

"I thought I explained to you about it already."

"…No you haven't. we'd remember if you did."

Guiding Wings squinted back at Luna. "Do you remember Rising Star?"

Luna's face went blank. "…We….haven't the foggiest."

"….Tin? Your friend?"

"…We have no idea what you are getting at."

Guiding Wings blinked. "….whatever tampered with your memory?"

Luna huffed. "I assure you! Nothing has tampered with our memories!"

"….I have a hard time believing that—" then Guiding Wings fell silent.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just….something came to mind, is all. You'll remember in due time. Maybe. Either way….I need to see you into the throne room, at once."

"Both of us?"

"Yes. This is…rather urgent, and I'd rather you'd all be in the know."

Luna tilted her head, but decided best not to argue, following Guiding Wings out of the library.

"…We like your headdress. It compliments your wings."

Guiding Wings blushed. "Um…thank you. It's a long story about how I got it, though."

**(((+++)))**

Cadence's mane was rather tussled and puffed, though it was due to having been rushed out of bed to attend this emergency meeting. A light blue aura surrounding a brush, she began taming her bedmane as she tried to look as proper as possible as the throne room began filling with officials from all over Equestria. Even (to her surprise) the Wonderbolts were there, Spitfire in her uniform, removing her sunglasses and tucking them on the collar of her jacket.

Cadence had looked at her aunt, rather confused. In all of her life, she had never seen Celestia so upset. Whatever was going on, it must've been important to upset her aunt, a normally laid back and calm princess.

The doors soon opened, Guiding Wings coming in with Luna….and they were not alone. A Unicorn, tall as the Pegasus with Luna, walked on the Princess's other side. He had a Middle Eastern look and tone to him, a tan coat with a dark brown mane. He had worn a dark purple cloak, which obscured his flank, and thus his cutie mark. Behind him were other ponies and creatures, though she had blinked at some of them.

The group behind them was dressed in different ways, but each were armed, similar to Guiding Wings. And it wasn't just that—among some of the ponies were species seldom seen in such parts of Equestria—to be precise, there was a Pony no bigger than one of the guards, with a short red mane, with clear, butterfly-like wings. In short, a Fairy-wing Pony (or as some had called them, "Flutterponies"), and a Pony that had a fin where hindlegs would be, making her a Hippocampi, floating within an aquatic bubble. In the back, near the doors stood what appeared to be a large reptile (it didn't look exactly dragon-ish), and a Diamond Dog, with blue fur and red eyes.

"I apologize if I have kept you all waiting. Boys, if you would please—close the doors." Guiding Wings instructed, the both of them nodding and doing what was commanded.

Cadence blinked at that.

"Don't worry about them too much. She's kind of their boss."

The pearl pink princess jumped, seeing a young stallion next to her—an earth pony with two swords to his side. A blue lightning bolt coming from a dark thundercloud made up his cutie mark.

"And who are you?" Cadence whispered.

"Blue Lining, Miss. My friends call me Tryce, though. I'm an Apprentice to Guiding Wings—the big Pegasus there."

"So you all work together?"

"Pretty much."

"Ok then…Tryce….who are they all?"

"That's classified, miss."

"Well, can't you tell a princess?"

"…I couldn't tell you even if you were Sugar Ray Leonard. Guiding Wings told me on strict orders not to tell until it was safe."

Cadence turned her attention to the center floor, letting the thought of whatever a Sugar Ray Leonard was slip her mind.

"I thank you all for responding as soon as possible to my request, and taking time out of your schedules for this gathering." Guiding Wings started, stretching her wings. "I assume you all are wondering why I have requested an audience with you all."

"You bet your Flank…" Spitfire quietly mumbled to herself.

"We have all come to warn you that trouble is coming to Equestria—no…to the whole world."

"What sort of trouble? I haven't notice anything—"

"Perhaps that is because your princesses have not been aware of it at first. Or perhaps none of you were aware of it either. Have you all notice any strange goings on in your hometowns and cities? Ponies acting weird, by any chance…? Perhaps even strange, green lights in the sky, or perhaps green shooting stars?"

Now the room was abuzz with claims and curiosities noticed by the ponies. Celestia had looked even more worried now.

"Ponies of Equestria, these are not coincidences. What you are seeing are just the beginning stages of a very dark magic—what we know as—"

"—The Orichalcos." The room went silent as Celestia spoke. The Princess of the Night arched an eyebrow, Cadence doing the same.

"Impossible. There's no such magic in our history—"

"That's because we intended it to stay unknown." Celestia said, her face set in a deep frown. "I've known Guiding Wings for a long time—and we had met during a time when these events occurred. Which then brings to reasoning….if the Orichalcos is back….Guiding Wings….is _It_ back as well? Has _she returned_?"

Guiding Wings had frowned. "I'm afraid that with the Orichalcos, it is becoming more than likely that _It_ is coming. There is no doubt that _She_ is coming back as well."

The thunder clashed outside, Celestia keeping a stoic appearance….though her eyes had shown fear and worry. "…of all the times….and I thought we had destroyed her and that….that _beast_ a long time ago."

"Cut off one head of a hydra, and three more grow back, Celestia. It hasn't just returned to Equestria...it's returned to our dominion and another world as well."

Luna blinked. "Another world?"

"A world like yours, full of life…but that's where comparison stops."

"Hold on! What is _It_?" Cadence asked. "I have no idea what _It_ is!"

Guiding Wings looked at the alicorn. "..You must be Celestia's Niece, if I heard properly?"

"You heard right. So, what is _It?_"

"…I can answer that question, Cadence." Celestia said. "What she is referring to is an old beast of legend—one that tried both of our homes, and our worlds."

Celestia looked to the ceiling. "…It's known as the Great Leviathan."

_**((To Be Continued….))**_


	17. Playing Save The Prince, Pt2

_**Previously, On 'A Game Comes To Equestria'…**_

_Ever since that last investigation of trouble in Dodge Junction, her sister had been on edge. Something that would ruffle the feathers of her sister, given how calm and orderly she was in tense situations, wasn't anything trivial._

_This storm hadn't helped much, either. Uncontrollable weather patterns were rare in Equestria, but they were happening more frequently as of late. Not to mention, the appearance of monsters, ones not native to Equestria. She had assumed they were from a different world—a dimension that hovered outside of their own…._

_But how did they get here? And why are they appearing now?_

…_"Do you remember Rising Star?"_

_Luna's face went blank. "…We….haven't the foggiest."_

_"….Tin? Your friend?"_

_"…We have no idea what you are getting at."_

_Guiding Wings blinked. "….whatever tampered with your memory?"_

_Luna huffed. "I assure you! Nothing has tampered with our memories!"_

_"….I have a hard time believing that."…_

…_"I've known Guiding Wings for a long time—and we had met during a time when these events occurred. Which then brings to reasoning….if the Orichalcos is back….Guiding Wings….is It back as well? Has she returned?"_

_Guiding Wings had frowned. "I'm afraid that with the Orichalcos, it is becoming more than likely that It is coming. There is no doubt that She is coming back as well."_

_The thunder clashed outside, Celestia keeping a stoic appearance….though her eyes had shown fear and worry. "…of all the times….and I thought we had destroyed her and that….that beast a long time ago."_

_"Cut off one head of a hydra, and three more grow back, Celestia. It hasn't just returned to Equestria...it's returned to our dominion and another world as well."_

_Luna blinked. "Another world?"_

_"A world like yours, full of life…but that's where comparison stops."_

_"Hold on! What is It?" Cadence asked. "I have no idea what It is!"_

_"What she is referring to is an old beast of legend—one that tried both of our homes, and our worlds." Celestia looked to the ceiling. "…It's known as the Great Leviathan."_

**(((+++)))**

The room was sent in an uproar the minute the words left her mouth. The tall Unicorn in the room looked amongst the panic. He cleared his throat.

"Excuse me."

No response. If ponies were not muttering to themselves in questioning and worry, they were arguing.

"_Excuse_ Me."

Still nothing. Huffing, his horn glowed and shot out a blast that sounded like cannon fire amongst war. It had silenced and caught everypony's attention.

"Thank you. Now that I have your attention; there is no need to panic just yet. It does look bleak, but this is why we are here—we have come to try and come up with a plan to beat the beast back before she arrives. There is no need to get your tails in a knot."

Spitfire spoke up. "He has a point, but still—you just confirmed a pretty old legend is going to come true."

The Unicorn arched an eyebrow.

"Well…you know, about the Snake and The Sun. where the Serpent devours the sun—"

"Are you saying this beast will devour Princess Celestia?!"

Soon chaos had reigned once more within the room, everypony arguing against another. Cadence had remembered the placement of the room—it not being far from where the _statues_ are. She quickly whispered in Celestia's ear, and she immediately charged a blast similar to the Unicorn's, drawing their attention.

"Everypony, Please, remain calm! I assure you that something like that will not come to pass, but we cannot prevent it if we continue to panic and run around in fear! We must remain calm, at any cost."

Guiding Wings eyed the three princesses, going over to the Unicorn.

"_Can you hold the floor as I talk with the royal highnesses in private?"_

The Unicorn nodded. _"I'll try my best."_

"May I request to speak with The Royal Princesses in private?" Guiding Wings said, bowing a bit to Celestia.

"You may."

With that, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia left the room, the Unicorn holding the floor.

**(((+++)))**

The ceremony hall was quiet and empty—It was south of the throne room, and was usually not used too much unless for the private meetings, or, as stated, for ceremonies and celebrations.

As the princesses entered, Guiding Wings shut the doors behind them all. The first part of the hall was a sort of gallery, though instead of portraits, the art found was within the glass stained windows.

"Ah, yes. I assume this is how you imprint significant events in Equestria's history?"

"The Stain Glass windows? Yes, it is a sort of way…though we still keep them down in record books." Luna had quietly commented, the Pegasus looking at them quietly.

"What is it that you've requested to speak in private about, Guiding Wings?"

Guiding Wings looked at Celestia, her expression hardening into a seriousness that the Sun Princess had not seen on the pegasus' face.

At least, not in the undertone she sensed.

"…E—"

"Please do not use my real name, Celestia. I'm sorry, but I am just…trying to find the right words."

"…Let's start with 'I need your help.'"

Guiding Wings sighed. "Celestia…Luna…I need to know…about the elements…are you—"

"We are no longer bearers of them. We have passed them down." Luna spoke.

"I see. Who then, did you pass them down to?"

Celestia had looked to one stain glassed window, with Guiding Wings looking as well. The window had depicted of six ponies, under a dark mare, surrounded by magic fired by them.

Guiding Wings looked at them, a small smile on her face. "Split amongst them. The Spirits of those elements….it's brilliant, and yet…so simple."

"It isn't anything too brilliant. After all…the Elements of Harmony work when—"

"There's a strong bond of friendship. They cannot work alone." Guiding Wings laughed. "I am as old as you, Celestia. I remember how they function and work."

Celestia had chuckled herself, smiling. The Guardian she remembered wasn't all gone. However, she returned to her more serious air as she kept her eyes on the window.

Cadence had kept quiet, poking the tips of her hooves together.

"…Your student…she's the purple one, yes?"

Celestia blinked. "How did you—"

"Just because I have not been here for so long does not mean I am completely out of the loop. What is her name?"

"Her name is Twilight Sparkle."

"And she still is your student…?"

"Why are you asking—"

"Is she ready?"

Celestia blinked. "Ready…ready for what?"

Guiding Wings looked Celestia in the eyes. Then, she understood.

"…She isn't ready. She still has a lot more to learn before she is. You are not asking me to…force her ahead of her lessons?"

Guiding Wings shook her head. "No. I would never ask you to do that to your student." She spread her wings as she reached into her saddlebags. She had pulled out an orb, as clear and transparent as any crystal ball, but as she held it, a flame inside had flickered to life.

"What I must confess to you—what I discuss, you must promise that nopony should know. Not even your apprentice…I trust you, Celestia and Luna…."

"And we trust you, Guiding. Please, tell us."

"I'll show you."

The orb flashed, filling the room with dazzling bright light. All three princesses had shielded their eyes until the light had died down…

And revealed that the room around them had changed. It was dark, mist surrounding their hooves…what had provided light were small dots of light, scattered all across the darkness.

Cadence had looked in awe at what she saw…but the feeling of dread began settling inside her when she began hearing the sound of voices echoing around.

Voices that cried for help. Voices that shrieked in terror, anger, frustration…fear. Cadence had begun shrinking inward at the feeling they gave.

Celestia watched as some of the many lights were consumed in a green flame, before fading into darkness. Each time it had happened, the room grew darker and colder.

"It's still confined in the other world….but it's spreading. And with every passing moment, _she's _gaining strength…it's doubtless that she'll appear in Equestria very soon. And with it, her dark magic will follow."

Guiding Wings stomped her hoof, the room fading back to normal, the orb turning as clear as it was before.

"I didn't come here just to seek an answer…Celestia….I came here to ask for your help."

"Help with what?"

"Guiding Wings….we can't just go and combat her and her magic. What if we fall in doing so? That will leave the kingdom wide open for her to attack." Celestia said.

"….What if I told you I made a mistake trying to figure out the cause of this mess?"

This caught Celestia's attention. "…What did you do, Guiding Wings?"

Guiding Wings took in a breath.

"I passed judgment, Celestia. It all began a long time ago…."

**(((+++)))**

"Wishing Star, waaiiit!" Honey Sweet yelled as she began to catch up with the frustrated Unicorn and the accompanying Changeling. It wasn't long before Wishing Star stopped, leaning against a large rock, not saying a word.

The bard tapped a hoof against her own cheek, before smiling and leaning in close to the beast tamer.

"Hey there, Ms. Grumpy Gussie~"

Wishing Star sighed. "What is it, Honey Sweet?"

"Did I ever tell you about the Octopus that wanted to write his own book?"

Wishing Star raised an eyebrow. "….No…?"

"Well, they always ask if he ever runs out of writing supplies for his book—he responded, 'sometimes I break a quill, and sometimes I run out of paper, but I never run out of ink!'"

Silence, save for the chirping of crickets. Honey Sweet tapped her hooves together in nervousness.

_(("Tough Crowd, if you ask me."_

"_Well, you tried, I guess."))_

"…Wishing Star? Are you still upset?"

Wishing Star sighed. "If you mean at you, no. I'm not upset."

"Well….cheer up! It could be…."

Honey Sweet decided to not finish the quoting. "…You're just homesick, right?"

Wishing Star huffed. "Maybe I am and maybe I'm not. There's no way to cure it anyways."

"You shouldn't let that get ya down. We just gotta keep on bouncin'!"

The changeling remained silent, though it seemed to agree with the perky mare. Wishing Star then cracked a smile.

Suddenly, the sound of the bushes rustling caught their attention...

**(((+++)))**

…When Spike had suddenly burped up a scroll, the scroll bouncing off of Twilight's face.

"Sorry!"

"It's fine, Spike…I guess we could take a break…"

"Oooh! A cliffhanger? What came out of the bushes there?"

"Hold on a second, Pinkie. I'll be right back….I have to find that book that Celestia sent me a while back…" Twilight said as she disappeared up the stairs.

Yugi had checked on Kuriboh, in the meantime. The small brown furball was fast asleep, curled up near the perch of Owlowiscious (where the owl had hooted at greeting when they made eye contact with one another).

Outside, the thunder had boomed. This time, Fluttershy had hidden underneath the table in her startled surprise, shivering a little.

"Storm's pretty fierce, ain't it, Sheep Boy?" Rainbow Dash said, standing next to the smaller Pegasus.

"Yeah…strange too."

"Yeah! We usually don't get storms like these often…but, somehow; it's oddly peaceful and awesome to watch it indoors."

Yugi nodded, watching the storm outside the window.

"Hey….Sheep Boy…? Bit for your thoughts?"

Yugi arched an eyebrow. "If you think something's wrong, there isn't. I'm just….thinking."

Rainbow Dash yawned at that, stretching her wings. "What about?"

"…well, I guess, trying to piece together what happened before I came here to Ponyville."

"Yeah…that amnesia stuff's still bothering you, huh?"

Yugi sighed. "It's not just that…" he stretched his wings. "Even with Twilight's help, I still have no idea about who I was. Just a last name…and these nightmares."

Pinkie had piped up from behind. "You've been having nightmares?"

Yugi had restrained himself from jumping, but nodded. "I keep dreaming of being separated from somepony, and being chased by this evil unicorn…."

He curled up, sighing. "I just sometimes lie awake at night wondering what happened….and if there's somepony out there missing me."

"Hey, don't worry your littl' egg-head about it too much, Sheep Boy." Rainbow Dash said, ruffling his mane. "I'm sure they're out there, missing you too! But right now, let's focus on the present!"

"Present? Ooh, you didn't say we were supposed to bring gifts!"

This had earned a stare from both Yugi and Rainbow. However, all three proceeded to laugh.

**(((+++)))**

Twilight had fished out the black book from underneath the many stacks of books she had read and studied. In these cases, she would keep piles until she could reorganize them all into the shelves, and even then, the piles were organized:

One pile was for books she had finished reading at leisure,

Another pile was for books she finished studying,

And yet another pile was for books straight from Princess Celestia that she finished studying, and even then, that pile was divided in two—books to keep and books to send back.

The black book was, naturally, in the send back pile.

She had grown curious about the spells contained within…but given the note that had accompanied it; she didn't try to give the spells any practice and took extreme caution with taking in the knowledge.

**(+)**

"_So what's this Orichalcos stuff all about, anyways, Twilight?" Spike said as he began shelving returned books to the library._

"_Well, to be honest, the book isn't exactly clear on everything, but from what I've learned, it's really ancient magic. What purpose it serves escapes me, though, but it is fascinating to look at the designs and formulae within this book."_

_Twilight had held out the book, showing formulae and spell runes on the pages. "Look for yourself!"_

"…_Looks like it's written in gibberish to me."_

_Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's not gibberish, Spike. It's Ancient Greccan!"_

"_Ancient what-now?"_

"_Ancient Greccan! It used to be a language used back in the old days, usually within the Mediterranean cultures. It's been a dead language for a thousand years…maybe more than that."_

"_Well, no wonder why it looks like Gibberish." Spike said, looking at the pages. "How come you haven't practiced any of the spells in it yet?"_

"_Well, one—Ancient Greccan is extremely hard and takes a lot of time to translate. Two—Princess Celestia specifically ordered me __not__ to perform any of the spells in the book."_

"_Why, though? Is it dangerous?"_

"_Well…I'm not sure, but I'm exercising my caution. Maybe next time we see her, we could ask." Twilight said, returning to her reading._

**(+)**

Even still, the texts she did translate had piqued her curiosity…but she had counter-acted to curb it, in order to prevent any forbidden practices.

A while ago, before the storm, Twilight had begun practicing another spell she had received from one of the princesses (Princess Luna, this time), and by using it, she had met a….peculiar creature.

A creature that could perform magic (with magical summoning and illusions being its forte), just like her. However, where it had been most skilled was where Twilight was lacking, and wanting to learn more about this shadowy creature's foreign spells.

Considering said creature's predicament, it wasn't hard to find something that would distract her from making an erroneous mistake with the book.

Wrapping it up gently with special paper, she focused her magic on the book, and in a flash, it had disappeared. She found it better to send something like the book to the princesses this way instead of through Spike's flames.

She then looked over to the notes she had taken. Every time when she had returned from meeting the creature within the strange domain it—

"He…it's male, I shouldn't be calling him an 'it'."

-_he_ resided in; she would take notes on what she encountered and learned about him and his domain. It had taken a while before he would open up to allow her to help him…but he did, eventually, even if it was a real slow process (even with some things slowly revealed, there were still things that he kept hidden in the dark from her).

After a quick rechecking of the notes, she decided to give one spell a try.

She cleared the floor in a round space around her, and focused her thoughts on the target at hand.

**(+)**

"_The Magic that I can do isn't for the likes of you." He responded bitterly. "Take my advice and don't even try."_

_Twilight stomped her hoof down on the cold stone floor. "And why shouldn't I?"_

"_Somethings are just better left unsaid."_

"_Well, you trusted me enough to come in here unharmed! All I just ask is if I give your kind of magic a go!"_

_That's when their eyes connected. Despite his body appearing completely in shadow to the Unicorn's sight, his eyes were perfectly visible. They showed a sort of harshness and cold hitting aura that could be compared to the cold, sunless winters of the frozen north._

"_No. I forbid you."_

"_Well, you can't just order me around! If you want me to help you—"_

"_Get out—"_

"_Don't you dare-!"_

"_**OUT!**__"_

_She felt the sudden push as she was sucked out of the realm, opening her eyes to reveal that she was back in the library once more._

**(+)**

Twilight's horn began to take on the magenta-tinted aura that was her magic, but the hue began turning into a darker shade of purple.

This was where she was beginning to strain. This kind of magic was a heavier variety than what she usually dealt with. _'But if he could do it, so can I!'_

The aura deepened from purple to black, the candles within the room going out as the magic seemingly sucked out the light and the shadows around her.

Once the magical aura had turned pitch black, Twilight locked onto the target in her mind. With it, a bright golden light had beamed from her horn, the aura surrounding the glowing golden horn.

It wasn't long before a purple orb formed in front of her. Twilight's legs shook as she maintained the spell, but she kept herself focus as steady as possible.

Then orb then finally took shape as Twilight finished the spell, turning into…

…a muffin.

She blinked. "A muffin? That's it? I thought the spell was meant for summoning other creatures! Why in the world did I summon a muffin?"

That was when she had noticed the muffin had eyes and a row of teeth. It immediately leapt at her, causing her to immediately freak out and fire a spell to blast it.

In seconds, it was gone. The mare's eye twitched.

"…Monster Muffins…O-kay….maybe he's a lot crazier than I thought."

"Nah. That happens all th' time if you're thinking of summoning an _object. _Dat kind of magic is meant for combat and summoning a monster, but I'm impressed—ya need one of those golden thingies to even cast a spell like that, but you just used a bit of it on ya own. Guess dat's why your da princess' star pupil."

Twilight blinked, looking around for the sound of the familiar voice.

"Down here, sweetcheeks."

The unicorn mare looked down, seeing a pair of small, red eyes looking back up at her.

Red Eyes had barely come up to her ankle in height (considering that he was the size of a figurine—quite literally), but he had waved a claw at Twilight. "Hi. Long time, no see."

She screamed.

**(((+++)))**

"Did you hear that?!"

"I think that came from upstairs!"

"To the upper library wing!"

The waiting guests had rushed up into the room, seeing Twilight on a stool, pointing an accusing hoof at the little dragon figurine on the floor.

"What's wrong Twilight?"

"It talked!"

Yugi picked up the figurine. "wait…this?"

"Yeah, 'this'! For the record, I am a guy, ya know."

Yugi suddenly dropped the figurine, though it hovered in the air by flapping its wings.

"Jeez, ya fillies—calm down! I can't really hurt ya, unless you count ankle biting hurting." Red Eyes said, flapping to the table where Yugi's saddlebags sat. Near the opening of one of the bags was the stand he was originally on. He took a seat on the stand, looking at the gawking group of ponies.

"Not so tough now, though, aren't ya?" Rainbow Dash said, poking Red Eyes with her hoof.

He retaliated by snapping his jaws down on it, making Rainbow Dash flinch in pain and flicked him off her hoof.

"Oh, don't worry 'bout dat none. Just because I got reduced to the size of a toy doesn't make me any less tough."

Lyra and Bon-Bon looked rather confused. Yugi sighed. "Do you guys remember when I got launched to Canterlot?"

It dawned on Lyra. "Ooh yeah! When that snowstorm hit and that huge dragon attacked! It was in all of the papers—oh. You mean this little talking toy thing is that dragon?"

Yugi nodded. Red Eyes snorted. "So, enjoying your little game so far?"

"Wait, you-"

"Yeah, I was hearin' your little game down there. Are you enjoying it?"

They blinked, though Twilight then spoke up; "What do you mean by enjoying it? What are you up to?"

"Ah, nothin'. I thought I'd make your little game a bit more interestin'."

"We don't need ya t' mess around with th' game, ya city slicker—"

Red Eyes gave the others a toothy little grin. "Oh come on….wouldn't you want it to be a little more in there for you—a little more realistic so you can have more fun?"

"Oooh, I'd like that!" Pinkie Pie piped up.

"See? Now there's an eager face. I promise, no strings involved…I just wanna see how you'll all handle it. I promise that once the game is over, everything will be normal again—safe and sound."

Twilight perked an eyebrow. "Give us one second." With that, she had rounded up everyone into a group huddle.

"I don't think it'll be safe going with this guy's suggestion."

"Well, what can he do? Scuff up the gameboard? At that size, he's perfectly harmless…"

"B…but maybe h…he's got something up his s-s-sleeve."

"Uh, Fluttershy….dragons don't have sleeves."

"It's a figure of speech, Rainbow."

"Why don't we just give him a chance? I mean, if he's shrunk, that means he's lost loads of power….so maybe he can't do that much damage."

"We'll have to play it safe, though. If he has something planned, be prepared for it."

Facing Red Eyes again, Twilight took a breath, and said, "Okay, we'll see what you have in mind."

Red Eyes grinned again. "Count backwards from three, sweetcheeks."

Twilight had given Red Eyes a confused look, but began to count backwards.

"Three….two…one…"

A bright flash of light went off, blinding and stunning them all. Everything to Twilight's sight had faded to black once the light died down.

**(((+++)))**

When Twilight came to, she was greeted with a view of the clear night sky above her head. Looking around, she had seen her friends collapsed in a heap, right in a clearing of a forest.

"…wait…he teleported us outside and cleared the weather…?" Twilight said to herself.

Twilight had made a head count...noticing that Yugi was not amongst the group. She immediately began to worry. Was it really a trick, just to get them out of the way to get to Yugi?

Her ears flicked, hearing voices from behind a thicket of bushes. "Maybe I should get some help for my friends…."

As she emerged from the bushes, she saw before her an earth pony and a unicorn. The earth pony had a honey yellow mane and a peach colored coat, light pink colored eyes and a cutie mark in the shape of a dripping Honeycomb. The Unicorn had a silvery mane, and a dark gray coat. Her eyes had matched her mane, and from what Twilight could see (as she was wearing a cloak), she had a slender figure than the earth pony.

The Unicorn, however, began charging her magic, a light blue aura surrounding her horn.

"Who are you?!" she demanded.

"Wait, wait! I'm not an enemy; I was just looking for help!"

The Unicorn arched an eyebrow, but the Earth Pony bounced over. "Oooh, what for, miss?"

Twilight sighed. "It's my friends. They're in the clearing—passed out. I have no idea where we are, though, and I've also lost one of my friends as well."

The Unicorn had relaxed, now curious. "You're in the edges of Darkbriar Woods. If you show us where your friends are, we can help you take your friends to our camp…provided that our tracks are covered, for once." She said with a bit of an annoyed tone in her voice.

Twilight blinked. "You're being followed?"

"More like being tracked, since following can mean just about anything!" the Earth Pony responded with a chipper tune in her voice.

"What is your name?"

"Oh! Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Interesting name." the Unicorn responded. "My name is Wishing Star, and this bouncy bard here is my friend, Honey Sweet."

Twilight swore all the color drained out of her right then and there.

'_By Celestia's mane…' _Twilight thought to herself. _'He didn't teleport us outside….he PUT US into the GAME!'_

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**((A/N: Apologies for the wait and if the chapter seems a littl' scrambled. *has been stuck with a bit of writer's block on this chapter*, it may take a bit, but hopefully I can breeze through the "Playing 'Save The Prince'" parts on my way back home, as I have a loooooooonnnnngggg road trip ahead of me. :P also, some stuff around here will be explained through The Game's Collection, when I complete the specific oneshots for it, so you might have to wait just a little.))**_


	18. Author's Notice

_Author's Note_

Hello everyone! For everyone reading _A Game Comes To Equestria, _I apologize for an extremely long wait. This is here as a reminder to those who follow this story is that Yes, I am Alive, and No, this Story is not dead.

I've been hitting a bit of a Writer's Block with the latest chapter, due to a mixture of Motivation loss, Other projects I'm working on and some other myriad things. But that doesn't mean I've cancelled the story, far from it. I've just lost steam to work on it for right now, so I've put it on Hiatus until I gain the motivation to work on it again.

For everyone following and commenting on this story-Thank You so much for your feedback! I may not reply back often, but I'm glad you enjoy the story (and a bit surprised-I didn't expect anyone to like it so much). for all those following: I will do Q+A parts on this story, but they'll be posted in _The Game's Collection_ as I gain more questions (you can take a look on how to do that from there), and since I'm taking a bit of a break from the story, you can go and take a look there (or do your own thing, it's up to you) on that. You can also take a look at my dA page for any AGCTE related stuff (though they're might not be too much of it), you can look at my profile page here for stuff on that.

Again, I thank you all for your patience and understanding and feedback, and hopefully once I get the ball rolling again, it'll be worth it. This part here will be removed when I finish the the next chapter and get back to work on it. In the meantime, I'll give you a small sneak peek from Chapter 18, just to tickle your fancies a bit. Enjoy!

-Rainstone56

* * *

_"I didn't know you had a thing for SSssssssmall Rodentssssss." It spoke, revealing itself to the dragon-winged stallion._

_"Well, forgive me; the rabbit is a pet of a friend, and a little stowaway." Hermos said, standing on a cloud._

_"Ha! Sssssso, it'ssssss true—you've befriended the morssssels of this pathetic world."_

_Hermos' eyes narrowed. "They are not morsels for the likes of you to devour. State your business, Serpent."_

_The long dragon circled the knight. "We have been Sssssent by our Mistressssss, to retrieve a lossst morssssel of hersssss….a Losssssst sssscrap of power. If you let ussssss take it back without a fight….we assssure you that your little horssssse friendssss will not be harmed."_

_Hermos huffed. "I hate to break it to you, snake lips….but I will not allow that to happen. And if you try, you'll have to answer to my sword."_

_Serpent only narrowed his eyes. "Are you refusssssing to cooperate, Sssssir Knight?"_

_"Why don't I put it in easy termssssss, you overgrown garter snake—" Hermos said in a stern, mocking tone. "If you so much as put a claw on him, you'll be a Serpent Night Shiskabob."_

_Serpent hissed. "You are more arrogant than that blonde mortal you chosssssssse, Knight."_

_"Well, I'd be happy to show you a new trick I learned from him, but I'm afraid I do not have any fingers in this form to do so."_


End file.
